Amoro Revidi
by Darkwood
Summary: Finished: September 22, 2002. Set roughly 6 years after the end of Tenkuu no Escaflowne, what's happened to Kanzaki Hitomi and Van de Fanel?
1. Prologue Tragedy

**Amoro Revidi**

Title: Tragedy [Prologue]  
Series: Vision of Escaflowne  
Rating: PG-13 for some angst  
_A/N: Not one of my happier fics here, but then I suppose it can't really be helped. I'm not too proficient with the angst department, so bear with me if this part is a bit stiff and formalized. It's also stylistically part of the prologue that the format comes across as being sort of like a police report or something. _

***

It really was a tragedy.

The car accident had killed three of the four passengers.

It was either a miracle or a sick twist of fate that the girl had survived. The forensics people couldn't figure out how she had managed to live until the ambulance had arrived… she had lost a lot of blood by the time the police arrived on the scene.

The curve in the road was always slick that time of year.

The Kanzaki family had been returning from a visit to the grave of the recently departed grandmother. It was 6:42 pm.

The government had been planning to refinish it for a long time.

The husband, Kazuko, wife, Yui, and son, Kennichi, were casualties in the crash. The car had skidded as it came into the bend, hitting the railing and collapsing around the passengers, trapping them within the car as it dangled on the edge of the bluff.

It was another hour before rescue workers got to the scene, and by then three of the passengers had died. She was the only one left.

The rocks are still stained a sick brown, a byproduct of the oil and blood that spilled down from the car as it hung suspended.

Just as they pulled her body from the wreckage the entire car combusted, spilled gas and blood alike going up in smoke.

It was suddenly on the top of the priority list.

It was her twenty first birthday.


	2. One Restlessness

**Amoro Revidi**

Title: Restlessness [Part One]  
Series: Vision of Escaflowne  
Rating: PG-13 for some angst.  
_A/N: Part 1, enjoy... it will pick up, I promise._

  
***

  
The King of Fanelia shoots up in bed.

_ Something is wrong,_ are his immediate thoughts.

Looking around he gathers in his surroundings.

Nothing out of the ordinary… the window with the two moons, the dark hall leading to his dressing room with a pulsing glow, his desk…

Climbing swiftly from his bed, the young monarch heads down the short hall and comes upon his bureau. Hanging upon a small stand is a necklace with an achingly familiar pink stone, emitting a pulsating glow.

_ Hitomi?_ he thinks to himself, reaching out and lifting the necklace into one hand.

A sudden surge of pain and grief causes him to drop the pendant and chain to the floor, where it makes an inaudible thump and then goes dark.

"Hitomi?" he asks breathlessly into the moonlit darkness around him. "What's happened to you?"

  
***

  
The nurse seated quietly in the room with a magazine hums softly to herself before glancing over at the form lying in the bed. _Such a pity… so young._ Gently she reaches over and brushes the sandy colored hair from the patient's pale forehead.

A low groan startles her into withdrawing her hand quickly, dropping her magazine in her chair as she gets quickly to her feet.

Slowly, a pair of pale jade eyes opens. A dry set of lips makes as if to speak.

"I… I wouldn't try to speak miss, you've…"

The eyes turn to regard the nurse.

"You've had quite an ordeal," the nurse says quietly, shirking from the desperate and accusingly open look coming from the pale face.

The lips are licked by a cautious tongue in the manner a small child might before attempting something unheard of or new to them. "Wa…" her voice breaks.

"Right here, miss, hold on just a moment." The nurse, still somewhat shocked at the patient having woken up, moves gingerly to the pitcher of water on the bedside table and pours a glass. Before helping the patient to sit up in bed and sip the water she presses the call button on the side of the pillow, alerting the nurse's station that the patient has regained consciousness.

Just as she is settling comfortably against the pillows, the door opens and a doctor enters. "Ah, Miss Kanzaki, I see you've woken up."

"Who," again the end of her question is choked off in a dry gurgle coming from her throat and she motions to the nurse for more water.

"I assure you that your condition is looking much better now that you've woken up, but you really shouldn't try to speak just yet, Miss Kanzaki, you've had that little tube down your throat for almost a month now, and as you can obviously tell your throat is very dry."

Slowly, as though afraid the motion itself will hurt her, she nods.

"I'd like to bring you up to speed on your current condition, if you feel up to it?" the doctor's voice rises politely in question and she nods again, still a slow deliberate motion. "Both your arms were broken in the crash, as well as the femur in your left leg. All the bones were set while you were unconscious and have begun healing properly, but, as I'm sure you've gathered, you're still in casts. We wanted to wait until you'd woken up to contemplate removing them, I'll ask the doctor in charge of your case my recommendation, which is that you should be out of those thick things as soon as possible. Since you weren't eating I was almost afraid…"

The voice slips from her hearing as a memory strikes her. "Mother!" her voice breaks again and the resultant cries of 'Father!' and 'Brother!' are lost to her audience.

"She's going into shock," the doctor says, setting his clipboard down quickly.

_ What… where are they?_

"Her heart's stopped."

"Code blue!" A flurry of lab coats and nurses' scrubs livens the air in the room as the medical staff begins their work.

Staring blankly at the ceiling she sees the faces of her family, rushing towards her and swirling around her.

"Doctor, we're loosing her!"

A sudden image penetrates her mind, which is clouded over with images of her missing family. _Van._

In the resultant silence of that declaration the heart monitors pick up a slow and steady pulse. The beat of it seems to calm the atmosphere of the room for a long moment and she continues to stare up at the speckled ceiling, the impression of a handsome and familiar visage imagined there.

And just as easily as it came, the images dissipates into a penlight as one of the doctors calls out, "Kanzaki? Kanzaki Hitomi? Miss Kanzaki, can you hear me?"

Numbly, she nods.


	3. Two Visiting Hours

**Amoro Revidi**

Title: Visiting Hours [Part Two]  
Series: Vision of Escaflowne  
Rating: G  
_A/N: Part 2... this gets harder and easier as I go along._

***

  
Standing in front of the shrine and staring up at the Mystic Moon hanging in the night sky, Van looks into the glitter of the pink stone with a troubled gaze. "Hitomi… what is it?"

A moment later a bright column of light materializes and the young king of Fanelia disappears into the stars.

  
***

  
Gasping for breath, she sits up swiftly.

_ Mother… father…_

Glancing around the small, formal hospital room she is again disappointed. Aching muscles crying out from beneath her casts, she adjusts slightly, stretching her cramped muscles. _Brother…_

Slowly she sinks back to the pillows of the bed, glad, at least, that after three months the larger masses of plaster and glue had been stripped to only splints that were wrapped nightly in braces to keep her from jostling the injuries during her dreams, which had turned violent. Turning her head, she looks out the window at the night sky, the perfect full moon framed in her window and she suppresses a wistful sigh.

_ The moon… looks so much deader here. I remember… that night… it had looked so alive, for some reason, almost as though I was back in Gaea…_

A shadow crosses the windowpane and she looks after it, eyes focusing quickly.

"What…" she begins in a hoarse voice, throat still sore from so much disuse.

As she watches, from somewhere out of sight, a hand extends and pushes the window open into the space of the room. "Who's there?" she calls, drawing the sheets up to her neck with painstaking care.

"Hitomi?" the voice, as he steps into the room, is meek and almost timid, something unfamiliar from the familiar form of the Fanelian king she had come to know over the past six years.

"Van?" her voice quivers a little as her eyes take in his tall silhouette in the darkness. "Is that…" incredulously, she continues, "really you?"

"Hitomi, are you ok?" he asks, glancing around warily. "I… tried to find you but…"

She turns her face away from his and says in a low voice, "I must look hideous right now… I… was in an accident."

"When? You're not… permanently injured, are you?"

"N-no," she bites her lower lip softly. "I should make a full recovery."

"Hitomi, what is it?" He takes a step closer to the bed and kneels next to the railing. "Something is wrong… isn't it? Something you aren't telling me."

She nods her head, eyes closed tightly.

"You can tell me, Hitomi, I…" he pauses, searching for the right words, "I'd like to know. I'm worried about you."

"My family," she whispers quietly.

"Hitomi?" he leans closer to her, reaching forward to take her hand in his own. "What happened?"

"There was an accident… we…" she forces her eyes open to look at him as the tears begin to fall from her eyes.

He draws a hand up to her face and brushes the tears from her cheeks gently.

"We went off the road… I… I don't remember what happened after that."

Tenderly he strokes the bangs from her temples and lets his hand rest on her cheek. "Then the rest of your family…?"

"Already buried," she replies, voice empty. "Up on the mountain with grandmother… overlooking the ocean…"

With a gentle brush of his lips on her brow he hushes her, and the two sit like that, in the quiet, for a long moment, the only motion between them the gentle motion of his fingers against her cheek.

A noise at the door goes forgotten as the tears dry in her eyes.

The night nurse enters and gasps. "Who are you?" she demands loudly. "Miss Kanzaki, are you all right?"

"I'm fine…" she says evenly, "now."

Van looks up at the nurse with a puzzled expression, even though he understands the words she speaks, thanks to the pendant, and the nurse says, "Really, sir, I'm going to have to ask you to leave, visiting hours for the day are over."

Glancing back down at the frail, cast coated form on the bed Van motions with his head towards the window. "I… really should be going, I suppose, Hitomi…"

"Be well, Van."

"Ah…"

"Excuse me, young man, but the door is over that way," the nurse taps her foot angrily. Van glances at her, still somewhat confused by her response to him, and nods, heading towards the door with one last glance at Hitomi.

"I'll see you tomorrow, then?" the look in her eyes asks hopefully. Van nods slightly and exits the room, the nurse closing it firmly behind him.

"Really, Miss Kanzaki, if your friend wanted to visit, he should have come during visiting hours. This hospital has a strict policy on guests to rooms during evening hours…"

Hitomi rolls her eyes disinterestedly and leans back, feeling a peaceful exhaustion overtake her and the warmth of his hand on hers.

"… Kanzaki …"

The nurse's voice fades to a low whisper in her ears and her eyes drift closed.

_ Van…_


	4. Three Disappearances

**Amoro Revidi**

Title: Disappearances [Part Three]  
Series: Vision of Escaflowne  
Rating: G  
_A/N: Part Three... very basic part. It'll probably get updated and fixed before I finish part 4..._

_***_

"Your Highness," an insistent voice calls after the quickly walking monarch of Fanelia. "Lord King, please wait!"

Annoyed, he stops at the top of a staircase, waiting for his advisor to catch up. Once the man is near enough to speak comfortably to, he moves forward again. "What is it?" he asks in an agitated voice, focused only on completing his duties for the day and then going back to see Hitomi again.

"Your Highness, you have not met with your advisors in several days, is something wrong?" the hunched over form of Peralis, his chief advisor, asks him, attempting to keep up with his long strides.

"Nothing is wrong with Fanelia, is it?" Van snaps.

"No, Lord King, but…"

"Well then what should I meet with you about?" he asks, pausing and turning to look at his chief advisor. "I cannot do more than I already am, short of locking myself in with the lot of you to discuss policy and fashion."

"We… we feel it's time you begin to consider a wife, Lord King."

After a moment of silence, in which Peralis shrinks back from the fire in his monarch's eyes, Van turns on his heel. "I will not discuss this at this moment."

"Lord King, you are already moving into your twenty second rotation…"

"And Queen Millerna of Asturia already had a husband and a son by this time? Or are you going to tell me that I'm going to turn into Allen Schezar and become a permanent bachelor if I don't watch out?" Van snaps, holding himself in check from physical violence only by a narrow margin.

"My liege…"

"Don't you think I know that?" Van's voice drops.

"Without an heir… Fanelia will never be safe."

Van snorts and folds his arms on his chest. "Even with an heir Fanelia will never be safe. When my father lived he had two heirs and we still managed to fall on hard times," he pauses moving onward and saying in a dark tone, "if you recall, during the first war."

Peralis forces himself to follow as the king continues down the stairs. "Your Highness, even though an heir would not secure Fanelia's safety, it would do much to assure the line of the nobility."

Whirling on his chief advisor, Van pins him with a glance. "I'm aware of that, I know that I'm the only living member of my family, I do not need to be reminded of it every step that I take."

"Y-your Highness, I did not mean to…"

Turning his back to Peralis, Van grudgingly accepts the apology, and cuts him off before he can continue, "I know that you didn't mean anything by that. You never knew Folken so I don't expect that you could mean anything by it." He sighs and runs a hand through his hair. "I'll… meet with the advisors tomorrow, all right?"

Peralis, shaken but still happy with that announcement, nods. "And will you consider our suggestion…"

"Suggestion of what?" Van's voice causes Peralis to stiffen and stand up straight.

"That you seek a bride, Your Highness."

"Duly considered," he says in a tired voice. "Now go attend to something else that I'm sure needs your attention and leave me in peace."

***

"Miss Kanzaki, you have a visitor," the nurse on duty says, peeking her head in.

Hitomi sits the bed up slowly, inching the pillows into a comfortable position and smiles at the nurse.

It had taken some doing, but she had managed to set up with the nurses that Van could come in to visit her. She had been forced to lie and say that he was from another country, and when asked to specify, she had been put on the spot and said 'America' with little hesitation. They had accepted that as a fact, and in the eyes of the staff that excused his prior appearance late at night.

"He seems to have learned some manners since we last saw him, thanks for talking to him about the rules here."

They dismissed it as some silly American impoliteness and impropriety.

She felt bad about it at first.

She knew some very nice Americans that were more polite than people from Japan, but the need to see him overrode her what her normal reserved nature would have done to prevent her from continuing the lie.

"No problem," she replies with a smile. "Can you send him in?"

"Hold on a moment," the nurse says, disappearing into the hall and returning a moment later to hold the door open for the young king of Fanelia.

"Hitomi," he says with a smile.

"Hi Van," she replies in kind.

The nurse quietly closes the door and goes on about her rounds.

"So, how's Fanelia?" she asks in a quiet conversational tone.

Van's eyes darken a moment and he pulls a chair over to sit next to her bed. He doesn't answer for a long moment, and when he speaks, he changes the subject. "You're recovering well, I take it?"

A slight frown pulls on Hitomi's features. "I'm doing as well as can be expected. Van, how's Fanelia?" she asks again.

"Fanelia is fine," he says in a tight voice, looking around the room at the lack of decoration. "It's… bare in here."

"Yes, it is," mentally she puzzles over his avoidance in talking about Gaea.

"Shouldn't there be flowers or something? I feel like I should have brought some, now…"

"Van, what's going on?" she asks finally, trapping him in her gaze. "You're avoiding talking about Fanelia, is something wrong?"

He takes her hand in his, looking down at the contrast in their skin tones. "Just political stuff, Hitomi," he says with a shrug, staring down at the difference between them emblazoned so strongly.

She squeezes his hand and tugs him closer to her, bringing his face level and causing him to lean over her. "Van," she says in a quiet, intense voice. "Talk to me."

Instead of saying a word, he leans forward and gives her a soft kiss before pulling back and blushingly looking away from her.

"Van…?"

"Do we have to talk about this?" he asks quietly, glancing up to look into her eyes. "I'd rather… think about other things."

She nods slowly, one hand lifting to touch her lips.

***

Seated in the council room, Van lounges in his chair and listens to the petty state affairs, shocked himself by his actions the previous day. _I kissed her. I can't believe it. I've never…_

The advisors noticed the disinterest their king was paying them and the whispers started quietly. 'Is it true he's been disappearing into the forest for long periods?'

'Someone reported seeing a bright light out there the other day.'

'Do you suppose…'

"That's quite enough of that sort of talk," Van says in an angry tone. "If there are questions, I'd prefer that you asked them to me directly instead of speculating and getting the answers wrong."

Peralis stands at the far end of the room and asks. "Your Highness, where have you been disappearing to lately?"


	5. Four Political Fencing

**Amoro Revidi**

Title: Political Fencing [Part Four]  
Series: Vision of Escaflowne  
Rating: G  
A/N: _I know I said it'd be a while, but this part just sort of came out last night... erm, this morning... and so here's part 4. Part 5 might take a little longer, though._

_***_

Without thinking about it, Van balls his fists. "That's none of your concern."

"My liege, with all due respect," another of the advisors says, standing, "it is our concern, as you are the ruler of Fanelia and the cornerstone of the lives throughout the country."

Glowering, Van glances around the room. "If you must know, I've been visiting a sick friend."

The advisors all give him blank looks. "We were unaware that Lady Merle had fallen ill…"

"She has not."

"Allen Schezar, is it then?"

"Neither is it him."

Peralis quietly asks, "Have you been going to the Mystic Moon, your highness?"

Van nods curtly once.

The crowd of advisors erupts into melee, declarations ranging from 'Impossible!' to 'Highly inappropriate for a king to go traipsing off into such a dangerous place,' and, 'Irresponsible!' filter to Van's ears. He closes his eyes and gathers his patience.

"Highness, who have you been visiting there?" Peralis ventures to ask, voice ringing out over the din of the other advisors.

Van opens his eyes and meets Peralis' across the room. "I should think that would be obvious," he says over the dying racket. "I've been visiting Hitomi."

The dying noise cuts off short, the advisors cowed by that declaration. None of them could call it an inappropriate gesture, Hitomi had, after all, been a hero of the Great War. Van settles himself in the chair more comfortably, slouching some and crossing his arms on his chest.

"What's happened to Lady Hitomi?"

"An accident," Van says shortly. "I don't want to discuss it, and she's not here to talk about it, it's her business, not yours."

Slowly the advisors retake their seats and the meeting continues on a more normal path. "Have you given any thought to the idea of finding a queen, your highness?" Peralis asks finally.

"I have considered it," Van says, leaning on one arm in an agitated manner, "but I haven't met anyone that fits Fanelia properly."

"Your Highness," Gabriel, the minister of foreign affairs, says as he stands, "surely any of the neighboring princesses would suit _Fanelia_ just fine. They are all well versed in ruling a country and know the customs of the land."

"Not our customs," Van counters.

"I think what Minister Gabriel means, sire," Lord Brett speaks up, "is that perhaps Your Highness is having a personal rather than state problem with the princesses?"

"What do you mean by that?" Van asks, slightly bewildered.

"Certainly the princesses are qualified to become queen, and if they are somewhat ignorant of Fanelia's customs, they can be educated in them?"

Van frowns slightly, face setting in opposition to the implications. "What? Do the lot of you want me to marry someone I care nothing for?" he stands, moving to the window. "The closest one of them to my age is barely sixteen."

"Your Highness need not choose a bride that is so much younger than himself. Surely there are older princesses…"

"All of which are still unmarried for reasons I care not to think of."

Peralis stands and takes a step forward, "Your Highness should leave this matter up to us. Surely if it were known that the King of Fanelia were seeking a bride all Gaea would turn out their best and brightest to vie for the position of Queen."

"And that's just what I'm afraid of," Van says quietly, looking up at the Mystic Moon. "If they know I'm seeking a bride they'll put out the best parts of themselves, but that's not what's important in a queen."

"Sire?" Brett asks.

"A queen must be someone who can balance out the good and the bad, and can work around situations as they arise." Resting his hands on the windowsill he clenches his fists around it, "And I won't know anything about how these… _candidates_ would respond in a time of urgency if it should arise if I'm only seeing the side they show when attempting to attract a man."

Peralis nods, glancing at the other council members for their support, which comes out of virtue not only of Peralis' position as chief advisor, but also seeing the value of their king's words.

"Let the matter drop for now," Van says, glancing down at his gloves, mind reeling with the idea of finding a princess to wed.

"Well… there's only the business of the invitation you've received for the anniversary celebration in Asturia."

"Anniversary?" Van asks, mildly intrigued.

"It is the fourth wedding anniversary of the Queen's marriage to Dryden Fassa, and, subsequently, the coronation."

"And the celebration…?"

"A week's festivities in the capital ending with a ball on the eve of the anniversary. Shall we send your regrets?" Peralis asks, pen ready to mark down the King's refusal.

Normally, Van stayed away from such large gatherings, preferring to remain in Fanelia in case of attack, and general dislike of the social scene at the stuffy royal affairs. Something about the chance to see his old friends from Asturia, however, drew him to a little bit of extroversion, in this case, though.

"No," Van says quietly.

Hitomi was being released from the hospital in a few days, and as he thought about the idea, it made more and more sense to him.

"I'll be attending."

Peralis was halfway through the note of refusal when he heard the words he never thought he would hear from his king's lips.

"Your Highness?"

"If I'm going to even attempt to look for a bride… since Fanelia will be needing an heir, at least, I might as well get to know some of the people that are up for the position."

Brett and Gabriel exchanged covert glances of joy, Peralis began to mark out his prior writing.

"And besides, I'm going to ask Hitomi to come with me," Van finishes.

That stops the advisors short once more, but Peralis recovers quickly. "Then this meeting is quite concluded," he says, "shall I arrange for a room and seamstresses for the Lady Hitomi's visit?"

Van glances at his chief advisor somewhat incredulously. "You've got no problem with her coming?"

"Highness, the Lady Hitomi, be her from the Mystic Moon or not, is a hero to both Fanelia and Gaea, any hospitality we can show her is a privilege and an honor to us."

Van ponders that statement and nods. "See to the arrangements then," he says. "Does anyone else wish to comment on anything?" he asks his advisors, turning to face them.

Brett, Gabriel and the other advisors look between each other and shake their heads, muttering, "No, sire," and other such negations.

"Then you may leave," Van says, turning back to face his throne.

As the lords and council members leave the room, Van sinks into his throne grateful for the end of the torture session. A low scraping noise alerts him to the fact that he is not alone.

"So how _is_ Hitomi, Lord Van?" she asks, dropping down next to his throne and drawing herself up to her full height of close to six feet, pink hair draping down her back.

"You really shouldn't listen in on the meetings I have with my advisors, Merle."

"It's not like you ever tell me anything about what happens anymore anyway, how do you expect me to keep up with things if I don't?" she asks, flicking her tail in an annoyed gesture of her own, ear pricking as though waiting for a response. "You know Brett wasn't pleased to find out you were visiting Hitomi, don't you?"

"It escaped my notice," Van responds wryly. "None of them really were, but they cover it well."

"You need different advisors, Van," Merle responds, blue eyes sparkling as she moves over to stand by the window, imitating his prior position with her hands clenched on the sill. "Otherwise you're going to break the windows with all the clenching and unclenching of your hands."

Van smiles slightly and crosses his legs at the ankles, relaxing a bit.

"So…" Merle begins, letting go of the sill and turning around to lean against the wall while taking out her nail file, "are you really going to bring Hitomi back here with you?"

"If she agrees," he says, raking a hand through his hair and glancing up at the ceiling.

"You haven't asked her yet?" Merle snickers a purr and says, "That's so typical of you, Lord Van. You get an entire country… no, two of them, prepared to receive her and you haven't even asked her yet."

"I'll ask her tomorrow," he replies lightly. "She gets released the day after, maybe she'll come straight from there."

"And if she doesn't?" Merle asks, one brow lifting mischievously.

"She will," Van replies firmly, standing and stretching his back. He crosses to the door, and looks over his shoulder at his childhood friend, repeating again in a less sure voice, "She will."


	6. Five Departures

**Amoro Revidi**

Title: Departures [Part Five]  
Series: Vision of Escaflowne  
Rating: G  
A/N: _Longer part here, they're all starting to get longer and longer as I add more perspectives into them because the plot calls for them. I'll try to maintain the time it's been taking me to get them posted as it is, but for the next week I'm simply not going to have the time to do all the uploading and stuff I've been doing lately. :( Sorry guys, it's finals week._

***

"Well, Miss Kanzaki, how does it feel to finally be getting out of here?" the nurse asks, helping her to stand, somewhat shakily.

She smiles a genuine smile at the nurse and asks, "Has he come yet?"

"Not that I know of… let me just check again."

Quietly she sits down on the edge of the bed and starts to put on her shoes, the scene replaying in her mind of the day before when Van had asked her to come back to Gaea with him for a second time.

***

"Hitomi," he stopped her in the middle of a sentence.

"Yes, Van?" she asked politely, slightly unnerved by the stillness of his voice and demeanor. He took her hand in his, looking down at them for a moment before looking up into her eyes.

"Where are you going to go when you get released tomorrow?" his voice was unsure, as though he were about to do something he wasn't sure of.

"I…" she paused and the realization came that she didn't know what she was going to do when she got out. She hadn't thought that far ahead in time and confronted with the sudden emptiness of possibility, she closed her eyes and clutched his hand tightly. "I suppose I've got to… go home…"

He squeezed her hand once and her eyes opened, watering, and looked into his. "You could… come back to Gaea with me…"

She blinked her eyes several times, trying to get a clearer view of his face.

"It wouldn't… have to be forever or anything…"

"Van…?"

"But there's this anniversary for Millerna…"

She smiled pleasantly, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"… and I was going to go… plus Merle hasn't seen you in ages and…"

Wiping her face with the back of her free hand she reached out and touched his cheek. "Thank you," she whispered, pulling his chin forward enough to brush lips with him.

After a moment of shocked silence, Van leaned forward and embraced her loosely, mindful of her injuries, even though she was mostly recovered.

"And yes," she whispered in his ear, "I will come with you."

***

Her duffle bag sits on the floor beside her and she lowers her foot to the floor, standing cautiously. The door opens slowly and Hitomi can hear the nurse in the background say, "She's right through there."

A quiet cough brings her attention around to the tall figure of Fanelia's king standing, somewhat abashedly, in the doorway. She smiles warmly and leans down to pick up her bag, but he scoops it up before she can.

"Van, I can…"

"Please?" he asks quietly, making a pleading face.

She sighs and waves him on.

"Is there anything else?" he asks quietly, offering her his arm.

"N-no," she replies, somewhat confused by the formality of the gesture.

The two of them progress down towards the lobby slowly, Hitomi seated in a wheelchair being pushed by an orderly. In the lobby the two make their way towards the doors, her arm looped through his again, until a voice calls out to them.

"Hitomi!"

Van tenses, and the two of them turn to face the person calling out and approaching rapidly. "Yukari?" Hitomi asks in confusion.

Van glances down at her concernedly and she grips his arm tightly as the dark haired young woman comes over and embraces Hitomi consolingly. "I came as soon as I could, Hitomi, when I found out that…"

"Excuse me," Van says in a quiet voice, "she's still not quite well."

As though just seeing him for the first time, Yukari takes a step back, brushing her long hair over one ear as she takes in the countenance of the young man escorting her former best friend. "Hitomi… who's this?"

"Ah…" Hitomi glances between the two, pale jade eyes sparkling. "This is Van," she says, gesturing to him with her free arm, "I'm going to go stay with him for a while…"

"Hitomi, shouldn't you go home first?" Yukari asks, oblivious.

"Why… why would I do that?" Hitomi asks, voice faltering.

"Well… won't they worry…?"

Van, red eyes sparking in anger, pulls Hitomi into a gentle embrace, tucking her against him protectively and glaring at Yukari as she starts to cry quietly. "Don't you know anything?" Van snaps.

"Know what?" Yukari asks, bewildered and feeling some nagging recollection about the young man before her.

Van glares and brings one hand up to brush Hitomi's hair gently.

"They're… dead," Hitomi says quietly, pushing against Van's chest to be released. He lets her go slowly and she turns to face Yukari with a wan smile, "I… just can't go home right now, so I'm going to go stay with Van for a while."

He places a hand on her shoulder quietly and she turns to look up at him. "We should really be going, Hitomi."

Yukari blinks. "Hitomi!" she exclaims.

"What?" she replies, somewhat bewildered.

"That's the boy!"

Van blinks and peers closer at her. "Hitomi…?"

***

The staircase in the grand ballroom in Pallas, Asturia, had been scrubbed from top to bottom so that the white glittered in the afternoon sunlight like diamonds and crystals. The ballroom itself was being festooned and garlanded with multicolored silks and large festoons and flowers decorated the area.

In the afternoon sunlight the Queen sits on the throne in the ballroom, her son bouncing on her knee as she waits patiently.

A noise from the end of the room alerts her attention and her husband enters, a sour expression on his face. "Dryden?" she asks in a quiet voice, handing off the child to one of her attendants.

As the attendant leaves, carrying the young boy off to his nanny, Dryden Fassa kneels at his wife's feet and rests his head on her knees. Startled momentarily, she makes a little jump.

"You're still not comfortable with me, after so much time?" he asks quietly.

"Dryden, it's not that, I…" Millerna says, "something's troubling you, what is it?" she reaches down and brushes his thick dark hair back from his forehead.

"I love you, Millerna," Dryden says in a quiet voice.

Her hand pauses. "Dryden… I love you."

He smiles gently and squeezes her knee with one hand. Slowly, she draws him up from her lap and kisses him gently, eyes staring into his. The two of them break apart slowly and she smiles, "I married you, after all."

"Yes, you did," he smiles at her, the weight seeming to lift from his shoulders. "Which reminds me, there's a treat in store for you, my goddess."

She flushes slightly, still, at that reference to her beauty, and asks quickly to cover it, "What do you mean?"

"The King of Fanelia will be attending our anniversary celebration," he says with a smile and then as she puzzles over that he adds, "And your friend from the Mystic Moon."

"Hitomi?" Millerna gasps, grabbing his forearms. "No, she can't be," she says in a doubtful tone. "You're only saying that."

"No," he responds, reaching on hand up to cup her cheek, running his thumb over her nose, "I'm quite serious."

Millerna laughs happily and moves into his embrace, smiling as he tucks her against his chest. "I haven't seen either of them in so long, I wonder what's happened to the two of them."

"I haven't a clue when it comes to that, my dear," he responds, easing her up to her feet, "but I do know that the Queen of Asturia has more important matters to attend to before her own anniversary celebration than wondering about her guests."

"She does?" Millerna asks challengingly.

"Yes, she does, like greeting the first of them with her husband," he says, ushering her towards their rooms.

"And they're waiting for us in our rooms?"

Dryden smiles beguilingly, "No, but I really wouldn't expect the Queen to greet her guests covered in her son's spittle," he says, one hand on the small of her back as the other fingers the front of her gown near the stain.

She blushes and bats his hand away, moving along with him up the staircase to their rooms.

***

"Van, this is Yukari, my best friend."

***

Merle taps her foot disinterestedly as the maids prepare the guest room. "Where are those seamstresses?" she asks in an annoyed voice, tail swishing behind her in an agitated gesture.

A small group of women line up in front of her, out of breath, as though they had been rushing to get to where they stand, and Merle looks them over with an agitated glance for several minutes before saying, "And why are you late?"

One, apparently the spokeswoman, curtsies and says, "Sorry, Lady Merle, but there was a hold up in the marketplace when some…"

"That's fine," she says with a sigh. The marketplace had more problems than a labyrinth had wrong turns lately, due to the commotion over the entire anniversary celebration. "Let's head into the drawing room and see what fabrics you've brought with you… Hitomi can be very picky."

The youngest of the seamstresses, a girl who looked barely over fifteen, lets out a stifled giggle at that thought. Merle rolls her eyes and walks before them into the drawing room.

***

"Yukari, this is Van."

***

Chid looks himself over in the mirror, scowling.

"Your Majesty?" one of his guards says inquisitively.

"I'm still too small to be of any real importance, aren't I?" he wonders aloud, dusting off invisible particles of dust from his robe. The guard stutters for a moment, and he decides to rescue him with the question, "How do I look? Fit to visit my aunt Millerna's anniversary party?"

"Oh yes, Majesty, you look more than adequate."

A messenger arrives and announces, "Knight Caeli Allen Schezar has arrived to escort his Majesty, Duke Chid of Freid to Pallas, Asturia for the celebration festivities and to visit with Queen Millerna for the time being."

Chid smiles and waves the messenger away. "Have Allen brought here, I'd like to speak with him."

***

Glancing around agitatedly, Van nods to Yukari, fingers twitching for his gloves and a familiar twitch in his shoulder blades reminding him of his need to return to Gaea soon. He glances down at Hitomi as she speaks with her friend quietly for a few moments, and then looks around at the lobby, glad to note that the three of them are not attracting much of any attention.

Outside the afternoon sun slants its way towards the horizon.

***

"Hitomi, where'd you meet _him_? Why do I feel like I remember him… somehow?"

"I'll tell you about it some other time, Yukari, we've got to be going or we're going to be late, and I don't want to be late," Hitomi says, mentally frowning at adding another lie to the ones she'd already told her childhood best friend.

"Late?" Yukari asks. "Late for what, Hitomi?"

"We're…" she scrambles for an answer that is as truthful as possible, "we're going to meet some friends, and it's quite a long ways away."

"Hitomi, Amano and I could give you a ride, if you'd like."

"No, no, Van's going to take me, and it's pretty far."

"Oh, all right then," Yukari looks down for a moment and then says, "Would you like me to stop by your house for you and make sure everything's ok?"

Hitomi nods, reaching her hand into her pocket and pulling out a ring of keys, which she hands over to Yukari. "I might be gone some while, Yukari, so… it'd be nice of you to."

There is a pause in the conversation and Yukari closes her fingers around the keys, nodding and winking. "You can count on me, Hitomi."

"I always do," she responds with a smile.

"Well, Hitomi, I'll see you around," Yukari says, looking over at the door awkwardly. "Amano's waiting outside. I'll… tell him you said hello and that you're doing all right."

Hitomi moves forward and embraces her friend carefully, smiling as Yukari's arms reach up to embrace her as well. After a moment the two of them pull apart and Yukari turns and heads towards the door.

Hitomi turns to look at Van, who has a very uncomfortable expression on his face. She grins a little and puts a hand on his arm, alerting his attention.

"Is everything all right?" he asks immediately as she takes his arm again.

"Yes," she replies with a somewhat sad smile that, after a moment, brightens as the two of them move out the doors and into the golden glow of the late afternoon sunlight.

***

Elsewhere, as the sun sets in the sky, a battle rages.


	7. Six Edge of the Wood

**Amoro Revidi**

Title: Edge of the Wood [Part Six]  
Series: Vision of Escaflowne  
Rating: PG [_blood_]  
_A/N: Part 6... not sure if I like it or not. Let me know what you guys think._

***

Sitting up in bed and stretching, Hitomi lets out a small yawn that collapses into a chuckle. No matter how many times she thinks it through, the idea of getting jet lag when flying on wings still seems funny. She leans up, careful of her bruised muscles, and rests her arms on the windowsill, and, on top of the cross they make, she rests her chin, looking out over the serene morning landscape.

She and Van had arrived somewhat late the prior evening and he had asked that she go straight to bed. Hitomi smiles, _Always so considerate… it's unnerving_.

Slowly she lifts her head, one hand going to her lips as she recalls the quick kiss they had exchanged before he closed the door to her room and told her that there would be several servants waiting if she needed anything. She sighs and leans back against her pillows again, pulling the sheets up to her chin and drawing her hands over them repeatedly, the silky feeling such a contrast from the hospital room she had been trapped in only the night before.

A soft knock on the door echoes lightly into the room.

"Come in," she calls out, hoping her voice is loud enough to make it through the thick wooden door.

A maidservant enters and curtsies. "Sorry to disturb you, Lady Hitomi, but…"

"Let's get one thing straight…" Hitomi begins.

"… but Lady Merle said that I should come and inform you that breakfast will be ready whenever you are and that Lord Van inquired after you at breakfast."

Hitomi's heart fell slightly at that thought. _Van's already eaten._ "Did Lady Merle say how I could get in touch with her?"

"She said to tell you that she'd see you at breakfast."

Hitomi nods in response. "Well I'm ready now, if that's no problem."

"You'll have a fitting shortly after breakfast, she said to inform you as well."

Hitomi, climbing out of bed, nods matter-of-factually and then pauses. "A what?"

"A fitting," the maidservant responds, carrying a robe over to her and helping her into it. "You can't walk around in a robe for the rest of your stay with us, so when the advisors heard you were coming to stay for a while they arranged to have seamstresses make you gowns."

Hitomi holds up a hand. "Now wait just a minute, I won't be wearing any gowns."

The maidservant smiles and giggles emptily.

"What's so funny?"

"It sounds so much like what Lady Merle warned us," she says between giggles, "that you would be very picky and probably would refuse to wear too many dresses."

Hitomi sighs and tightens the belt around her waist before following the maid out of her room and into a drawing room area. "She gave us the patterns to some pants suits as well… they're modified riding clothes so I don't know how often you'll want to wear them," the servant pulls out a chair and waits, eyes somewhat downcast.

"I don't have anything specifically against wearing dresses, you know," Hitomi comments as she takes the designated seat.

The maid smiles and claps her hands, and a kitchen boy comes in bearing a plate of food. As he makes his way out Merle slips into the room, motioning the maid to be on her way for a while.

"How was your trip, Hitomi?"

Setting down her fork, Hitomi turns to regard Merle and smiles. "Merle!" she calls out, getting to her feet and going to embrace her friend.

Merle smiles and returns the hug, tail swishing happily. "How are you doing?" Hitomi asks, "I haven't seen you in ages, how's everything?"

"I'm doing fine, Hitomi, everything's… well you know Fanelia," she winks and then pauses, waiting for the response to her question. "How was your trip?" she prompts again when Hitomi doesn't respond.

"It was nice, smooth like I was being carried," Hitomi jokes with a grin, retaking her seat as Merle sits across from her at the small table. "Van's already eaten?" she asks somewhat sheepishly.

Merle nods. "He gets up really early, but he said to make sure you weren't disturbed this morning because you'd probably be very tired. I honestly don't understand him sometimes, you don't seem so exhausted to me."

"Well how long have I been asleep?" Hitomi responds, yawning slightly again.

"Good point, it's mid-morning already," Merle says, drawing her legs up to her chest as she sits and watches Hitomi continue her breakfast. "Don't get too full, I'm sure Van _will_ expect you to have lunch with him, even though he didn't require your presence at breakfast."

"I feel like I missed something important."

"Well he's not usually so anxious, but that's about all you missed," Merle responds, one ear pricking as she listens to something in the distance.

"Anxious?" Hitomi asks, sipping her milk.

"Yeah, but I bet that's just because you're here and he wants to be sure you have a good trip." Merle smiles at her and winks, "That and he's still got a major crush on you."

Hitomi blushes slightly, one hand slowly drawing itself up to her lips again in recollection of the prior evening's kiss.

Merle doesn't notice this gesture, however, and so she asks in a lower voice, "Hitomi, what happened?"

Continuing her breakfast, Hitomi ignores the question.

"Hitomi?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

Merle's tail stiffens and lashes from side to side agitatedly. "Hitomi, if something's happened… you're my friend too, you know. All this time I've tried to get Van to tell me what happened that you were sick…"

Hitomi glances at Merle with serious eyes and asks, "And?"

"And he wouldn't tell me a word. He told me that I'd have to find out for myself. I haven't been able to because not all of us can sprout wings and fly to the Mystic Moon just for a chat!" Merle hops up out of her chair and crosses to the window, angrily folding her arms on her chest.

Back at the table, Hitomi leans back slightly in her chair, grimacing but unable to keep her frown in place with the thought that Van hadn't revealed what was wrong with her or why. Somehow the privacy he had given her even in that small a manner made her happy, she didn't want everyone to know what happened since it hurt so much to think about it herself. She didn't think she could stand having an entire world's pity at her situation.

"Merle," she begins in a mollifying tone, "I'm sorry… I just… I'm not quite ready to talk about it," Hitomi finishes, looking down at her hands folded in her lap.

The cat woman glances over her shoulder at her friend and her anger melts away. She turns and crosses to stand at the edge of the table. "It's all right, Hitomi," she says, putting on hand on her shoulder. Hitomi smiles glumly up at her and Merle winks in response, "now hurry up and finish, we've got to get you fitted with something to wear before Lord Van sends for us."

Hitomi frowned a little at that reminder of that necessity. She shrugs and swallows the end of her milk, _When in Gaea…_ It also didn't hurt that everyone was calling Van by an honorific or something that reminded her that here in Gaea he was a king and not just her friend.

***

Van hadn't gone to bed as he had advised Hitomi to the night before, and so he found his energy sufficiently drained that he didn't feel up to meeting with his advisors in the morning. After calling off that meeting he took a short nap and then went down to inspect the castle's garden, hoping that the action would cause some of the tension in his body to relax.

As soon as his foot had hit the main gravel path in the garden, though, his eyes had been drawn up to the window of Hitomi's room and the tension and anxiety caught up with him again. Finally he had decided that he was being a fool about the whole situation and decided to loose himself in the plants for a while.

Glancing up at the sky he realizes the hour and curses mentally, going to wash up before calling lunch to be served. Skidding around a corner he runs into Merle, who wears a smile on her face and a relaxed demeanor.

"Merle!"

"Lord Van," she replies with a slight, mocking curtsy.

"How are you?" he asks lamely.

Merle smiles mischievously and her tail swishes behind her, "I'm doing quite well, thank you, but I don't think I'm the person you're wondering about."

"Ah…" he straightens up unconsciously and she chuckles. "What?"

"You who went on and on about wanting a queen whose faults you could see in the open beforehand," she hides her mouth behind one hand decorously and then says, "and the minute the person you'd like to spend all your time with is here you do exactly what you were afraid to face those princesses for."

Van arcs a black brow as he looks at her, and draws her close by slipping an arm around her waist. "Come on Merle," he says teasingly, "you're talking nonsense," he squeezes her waist once and then lets her go, continuing on his way.

A sour expression on her face, Merle sticks her tongue out at his retreating back. "I swear I'll never see what she sees in you anymore."

***

As the sun reaches its highest point the veranda dining room is filled with various Fanelian nobles inhabiting the castle, the King, and his guest. At a small corner table Van sits, Hitomi to his left and Merle on his right and the three reminisce quietly about the changes the castle has undergone and other pointless pleasantries.

Hitomi feels herself relax, the ball of fear clenching in her chest loosening as the good 'Gaean air,' as Van had called it in his list of persuasions to get her to come with him back to Fanelia and Gaea, works its magic on her.

"So, what are you going to do this afternoon, Lord Van?" Merle asks him pointedly, noticing the wandering of Hitomi's attention out the window and at the countryside.

"Huh?" Van asks, caught off guard for a moment before he follows Merle's gaze to Hitomi's attention straying from the meal and the conversation. "I cleared the afternoon to spend time with the two of you, since we haven't seen each other in so long," he says quietly, taking another bite of his roast. "Perhaps we could go for a ride?" he asks a little nervously.

Inwardly, Merle laughs at his sheepish demeanor, while outwardly she shakes her head. "I can't go this afternoon, I've got to see to some things about our trip to Asturia."

Hitomi, seemingly not noticing their conversation, finds herself lost in thoughts. First they had begun about the discomfort of wearing the dress, no matter how loose the bodice was, it was still laced to show off her figure, which had grown somewhat fuller over the past six years. Then it had strayed to Merle's hair, and how different she looked with long hair, and then it had settled, for a while, on the look of Van's profile in the sunset before it was drawn out the window and to the actual scenery from the veranda room.

Merle quietly excuses herself and goes on about her preparations, planning on how to force her two friends together as she had come, over the past few years, to accept as fate. Van waves a hand in front of Hitomi's face, somewhat concerned at her inattentiveness.

"What?" she asks, startled from her reverence of the landscape.

"Are you finished?"

Looking down at her empty plate, Hitomi nods. "Why?"

"Like I was saying, Hitomi, I thought we could go on a ride this afternoon. I didn't think you'd mind as intently as you've been staring at the landscape."

Hitomi blushes and looks down, "It's just been so long since I've seen Fanelia when it wasn't… ruins…"

Van nods placatingly and puts a hand over hers on the tabletop. "Well I intend to show you as much of it as we can see this afternoon."

Hitomi smiles at him happily and nods.

***

Stumbling, she clutches her wounded shoulder with one hand and holds the almost limp form on her back with the other. _Just… a little… farther…_

Finally exhaustion overtakes her tired form and she collapses, the two bodies she was moving hitting the ground in a tangled mass of limbs and bloody clothing. The sword clatters from her fingers and lands a few inches from her outstretched hand.

He groans and shifts his weight off of her for the most part.

With a wry grin her final conscious thoughts are, _Always the gentleman prince…_ and then her mind goes blank.

***

Seated atop the mare, Hitomi lets out a happy cry as the animal's thundering pace carries her over another hill. On a golden furred stallion beside her, Van feels the infectious joy spread into him and allows himself a wide smile as he watches her being jostled just slightly in the saddle. Just enough of a handicap to remind him that she hasn't been riding, most likely, since her last trip to Gaea.

The two of them pause at the top of the next hill and she glances around, "Fanelia's beautiful, Van," she says in breathless joy.

He smiles at her, "I'm glad you like it, Hitomi."

"Should we start to head back now?" Hitomi's voice is slightly disappointed as she looks up at the placement of the sun in the sky.

Van contemplates and glances around at the rolling plains area before saying, "I'm sure going to the edge of those trees wouldn't be a problem, at the very least. At the pace these mounts are going it don't see why we can't explore the forest a little."

_ I feel so free out here, with only him and the horses, I wish it could never end._ She thinks to herself. _I wish I could stay in Gaea and just spend time out here._

The two of them knee their mounts into another canter and take off, grass flying up behind their steeds as they head over Fanelia's terrain at a swift pace. The wind whipping hair back and exposing the late afternoon heat to necks and faces.

At the edge of the forest, Hitomi pulls her mount up short and, seeing her reason for pause, Van does as well, sliding to the ground and trusting the animal not to stray far. Hitomi starts to get down as well but he raises a hand to caution her to remain seated.

"Van…" she says, somewhat distressed.

"If anything goes wrong get out of here," he says to her, one hand on his sword as he approaches the pile of blood sodden clothing and limbs.

Hitomi glances at the scene before her uneasily, wanting to turn back the clock and have turned around at the last rise, the selfish and mean thought that this interrupted her ride shocking her. Slowly Van approaches the bodies, kicking the sword out of reach of the worn and yet smaller hand before kneeling to check for pulses.

Angry at herself, Hitomi moves her mount forward some and hears Van's gasp and subsequent exclamation, "They're still alive!"

She throws one sore leg over the saddle and slides to the ground, coming over to stand next to Van, putting a hand on his shoulder and grounding him for a moment. "What do we do?"

Van turns to look at her, eyes wide and wild for a moment, but they quickly regain composure and he says, "You're not too sore to ride are you?"

Hitomi shakes her head determinedly and he nods with a smile, standing and placing her back in the saddle carefully before reaching down to move the smaller body across her horse's rump, placing the larger of the two bodies across his own horse's hindquarters.

Somewhat bewildered, Hitomi waits as he lashes the body down and then repeats the process with his own horse before nodding to her and wheeling around and kicking his horse to head back towards the castle.

With a sigh, Hitomi feels dread creeping into her at what might have befallen these people, and she kicks her own steed into motion, feeling a bit of peace at the powerful animal's surge of strength as it carries her and the wounded… she glances to look at the face on the body lying behind her saddle… soldier towards safety and help.

As she catches up with him, Van glances at her consolingly, "I'm sorry our ride was cut short," he says somewhat loudly through the wind rushing past them.

"I just hope they're all right," Hitomi says, pleased to find that she truly feels that way. Van shakes his head and she continues, "It's all right."

"No, it isn't," Van responds firmly, a deep tone in his voice she doesn't quite recognize. "You didn't come to Gaea again to get caught up in its problems. This is supposed to be a vacation for you."

"Van…" she says quietly, voice carried away in the wind.

"I'm sorry, Hitomi."


	8. Seven High Priest

**Amoro Revidi**

Title: High Priest [Part Seven]  
Series: Vision of Escaflowne  
Rating: PG [_very **very**_ _mild language_]  
_A/N: Part 7... don't know how well these are coming out since I'm doing them so late at night after much homework done beforehand. For instance, tonight I started this part after building a house out of celery, cucumber, peanut butter, ranch dressing and red pepper... go fig._

***

Her first sensation, after a slight foray into delirium and between white areas of pain, is that of a careful hand wiping her forehead. Keeping still, she begins testing her body to see its limits.

"You should try to rest," a female voice says to her. "Whatever you're thinking of doing is pointless, your sword's locked up and your friend isn't doing any better than you are at the moment."

Startled, she opens her eyes to see an impassive feline face glancing down at her and then across the room. She follows the blue eyed gaze and sees a young woman washing down her companion's face and neck. He is covered in some few bandages and she can feel bandages covering herself as well.

"For now you're safe, the king's decided," here the cat woman pauses for a moment, "that you're to be cared for. He's meeting with his advisors to try and figure out what else to do."

Her eyes widen and she opens her mouth to speak.

"Just… rest," the cat woman's eyes flash agitatedly and she puts a hand to her breast bone, pushing her more firmly into the bed. "Nothing's going to hurt either of you for now."

Unwilling to do so, and yet unable to physically do otherwise, her eyes drift closed and exhaustion overtakes her once again.

***

"You shouldn't delay your trip to Asturia because of this, Your Highness," Brett says, standing. "It would be rude to Lady Hitomi and all those expecting your arrival."

"Those two were attacked," Van says angrily, feeling very much like a child being told to go to his room. Angrily he glares at his advisors, but they stare evenly back at him. "I don't want them molested," he says with an aggravated sigh.

"So you will be heading on to Asturia?"

"Under the condition that they be detained for questioning only. They will be considered my guests until we have information suggesting otherwise, is that clear?"

The advisors nod.

A knock on the door comes and Merle is admitted.

"Leave us," Van says with a dismissive wave.

The advisors file out of the audience chamber, eyeing the cat woman somewhat suspiciously as they go, but none of them commenting on her presence since it is nothing abnormal.

"You weren't listening in this time," Van remarks, leaning forward and rubbing slow circles on his temples.

"I was tending to the young woman you brought in."

"Oh?" Van asks, somewhat disinterestedly.

Merle glares at him, tail moving in angry strokes, left and then right. She nods and says, "She woke up for a little while and tried to get away from me," she says as though that should explain everything to him.

"And the young man?"

"Not a peep out of him, and he's better off than she is," Merle says, smiling wryly, "Hitomi's keeping his fever down as we speak."

"Hitomi is?" Van asks, startled out of his introverted thoughts. "Why is she doing it?" Merle shrugs. "Don't we employ people to take care of the sick here?" Van asks hotly.

"Yes, we do, but she's only sponging his forehead, geez, you act like she's bandaging him. The healers took care of that much at the least, they even were the ones to put the robes on them, calm down, Van."

Van stands and heads over to the window, lost in thought.

"What happened to Hitomi?" Merle asks in a careful, clear voice.

"Ask her yourself," Van says distractedly, staring out the window past his reflection and at the countryside. _I never wanted to get Hitomi wrapped up in things here. She deserves… some time to herself, to feel better._ He sighs, _I should have been there to protect her, maybe none of this would have had to have happened._

"She won't tell me, so you're going to."

_ And now I bring her here and what happens? The first full day and she's already involved in some incident that might be another conflict. Why must my life always revolve around conflict? Why can't I just spend a little time as a normal boy? _Dismissively he says, "Her family was killed… there was an accident."

Merle, realizing Van's mind is far away at the moment, asks another question, "And why did you bring her _here_ of all places?"

"Because I care about her and…" he stops short and throws a glare at his childhood friend. Merle folds her arms and smirks in response. "And it's none of your damn business."

"Oh come on Van, you can't blame me for trying," she responds, winking at him and coming over to stand next to him, placing her head on his shoulder and looking out the window. "You lock yourself up so much since…"

"I do _not_."

"You don't even like to talk about it," Merle says, pulling back and smoothing out his shirt with one hand before placing a kiss on his cheek. "Hitomi won't be so easy to fool, you know. She's going to catch on that you're not who you were sooner or later."

Van scowls.

"The sooner you get it out and talk about it with her, the less likely she is to be upset with you," Merle pulls away, hands falling to her sides and swinging slightly as she starts to exit the room, adding, "She's in the west wing with your new _guests_, if you're wondering where she is."

"Merle…" Van begins in a warning tone.

As she pulls the door shut behind her she adds, "It's all right to trust her, Lord Van, she's never let you down before." Merle leans against the door for a moment, staring up through her bangs at the vaulted ceilings in the hallway. "Not like I have."

***

Sponging the pale brow of the brown haired young man, Hitomi imagines what his eyes look like as she watches his temperature closely. His cheek length auburn hair falls aside, revealing more of his face as he turns a little and groans in his sleep. Consolingly she touches his brow and receives a jolt of images.

She freezes in place, eyes wide.

***

"Mama!" the brown haired young man calls out, looking much younger as Hitomi watches the dream-memory unfold.

A tall, darker haired man, bearing a cold expression of hurt on his face, brushes the young man aside, saying gruffly, "Learn not to call for her, she cannot help you your whole life."

An angry young woman crosses the small room to kneel down at the adolescent version of the auburn haired stranger's side, wiping tears from twelve year old cheeks and planting a kiss on his forehead. He quiets down and holds out his arms for a hug, which she supplies with a caring smile on her face.

Suddenly the scene switches and Hitomi finds herself looking up through his eyes at a kind face with familiar green eyes and dark brown hair. "He is only a boy, Edrick, have some patience with him."

"I tell you he'll never amount to anything Iona, there is no reason to have patience with the little whelp."

She stands and moves away from him, to stand by the aforementioned Edrick. "Regardless of what you think, his bodyguard will be here in a few days and then you'll not have to worry about anything more than training him to use a sword," the woman says, folding her arms across her chest and glancing out the window into the orange glow of the sunset.

Edrick mutters, "You're the Priestess, afterall."

"I am," she responds angrily, "and you'd do well to remember that," she adds in a dangerously low voice, "and your place."

Edrick looks as though he is about to protest when the young woman's green eyes spark with a threat that Hitomi, through the young man's eyes, does not miss at all. "Your tenure here depends on two things. My will, and the boy's training. Do not presume to think you hold more meaning than you do, swordsman."

The man opens the door to the room and leaves, slamming it behind him.

The woman, Iona, turns back to the young man and smiles, taking a seat in a rocking chair and motioning him to come and climb up into her lap.

"I'm sorry, mama," the boy says in a quiet voice.

"Hush, my dear," she coos in response, wrapping her arms around him and stroking the hair back from his face.

"Sometimes I think it'd have been better if I'd never been born."

Abruptly she holds him away from her, expression serious, "Never think that," she says in a harsh tone. "Never. You are my son," her eyes soften again and a smile soothes away her angry look, "and you are the best and most important person in the world to me."

***

"Hitomi?" Van waves a hand in front of her face, somewhat worried at her unresponsiveness. "Hitomi," he tries again, a little louder.

As though waking from a daze, she pulls her hand from the young man's forehead and shakes her head slightly before regarding Van with a confused gaze. "Oh, Van," she says in a far-off tone.

Gently, he puts a hand on her shoulder and leans forward a little, looking straight into her eyes. She pulls back slightly and he regards her carefully. "You were somewhere else, just then," he says quietly. "Where did you go?"

"Ah… I…"

Another groan comes from the bed and the young man turns over.

"Let's take this conversation somewhere else?" Van asks solicitously cupping her elbow and helping her to her feet. "You haven't eaten dinner yet, have you?" he asks, taking in her pallor.

"Me? No," she responds.

He puts his hand on the small of her back and guides her from the room, nodding to the guards stationed outside of it. "Well let's go get you something to eat, then."

_ Why are you doing this, Van?_ Hitomi asks him mentally, a little distracted by the light and lingering touch on her back. _And what makes you change so suddenly._

"I'm not really hungry," she says truthfully, turning to look up at him.

He pauses. "I am," he responds, "will you at least come with me while I eat?"

With a slight sigh, Hitomi nods. _And of course I'll eat something as well…_

***

As the two moons rise over Fanelia, Merle steals her way into the armory to take a peek at the armor and sword the young woman had been wearing. Tying on the scabbard and sword belt she slowly draws the blade and holds it aloft, taking a few swings with it.

_ Something about this blade…_ she thinks to herself. Bringing it above her head and slicing a circle in the air with it she listens to the whistle. _It's almost perfectly balanced, but then if she was using it I suppose it would have to be._

Drawing the blade close to her face she examines the edge. After a moment's inspection she nearly drops it. _I've never seen an edge like that…_

_ … not since…_

Sheathing the sword and stripping the thing from her waist, Merle replaces it and moves to inspect the armor, confirming her suspicions. Shaking her head she makes her way out of the armory and moves towards the library.

_ I can only hope…_

***

The following morning, Hitomi wakes with a slight headache and asks her maid to bring her a glass of water. _I'd really rather I didn't have all these servants waiting on me,_ Hitomi thinks to herself. She sighs as the maid returns with the glass of water, setting it on the small stand next to the large four poster bed.

_ But like they say, when in Fanelia…_

Taking some of the pain medication from her bag, she swallows it down with a large gulp from the glass of water before getting out of bed. Glancing at the simple gown laid out for her she sighs and goes to wash up.

By the time she's dressed and leaving the bedroom, Merle is waiting with her breakfast. She sighs slightly, noticing Van's absence.

"You're pathetic, Hitomi," Merle says, as though voicing Hitomi's inner monologue. "Are you so in love with Lord Van?"

Hitomi blushes slightly and looks down at her feet as she starts her meal. Merle, meanwhile, sips some milk from a goblet and eats a small repast of her own. "Didn't you dine with him this morning?"

"He didn't dine this morning at all," she replies in a tired voice, "or if he did, I wasn't awake when he did."

She puzzles at that statement and finishes her eggs quietly. "Didn't he require your presence there?"

"I suspect he was meeting with his advisors to discuss your departure and how to deal with the newest guests to the castle."

"Aren't you coming with us, Merle?"

"Me? At a royal gala event?" she chuckles a throaty chuckle and leans her head on one arm, regarding Hitomi quizzically. "In Fanelia I'm accepted as one of Lord Van's consorts and confidants," she scrunches her nose in annoyance, "elsewhere I'm frowned upon and tolerated because of my role in the Great War."

"That's unfair!" Hitomi says immediately.

"I'm sure I could go with the two of you, no problem," Merle continues, dismissing Hitomi's exclamation with a flick of her fingers, "but I'd rather not overstay my welcome. I'm not sure how much I'd really enjoy being in Asturia anyway." Seeing Hitomi's depressed expression, Merle adds, "And besides, someone's got to mind Fanelia, the castle, and the strangers while the two of you are gone," she winks mischievously.

That brings a chuckle up from inside Hitomi and she grins. "Not that he tells me anything about what it's like running Fanelia anyway," she says dryly.

Merle shrugs, "Comes with the territory. He doesn't speak much about it to anyone," she confides with a sigh. "I have to sneak into the meetings he has with his advisory council in order to get most of what's going on, myself."

_ Why the change, Van?_ Hitomi asks mentally, not expecting any return even if she'd asked him that to his face.

Merle watches the expression on Hitomi's face change as she puzzles over that concept and then says, "How's the wardrobe working out for you?"

Hitomi frowns a moment and says, "It's pretty enough, I just wish I had some pants."

Blue eyes sparkle with mischief. "The only ones there was a pattern for were riding pants, but there are some of those that should be ready by tomorrow."

Hitomi sighs, "And I'm sure they're form fitting and tight, right?" she rolls her eyes. "It's not like I'm trying to attract anyone."

"Nope," Merle says, getting to her feet, "not that you need to. Lord Van's already got it bad," she heads to the door. "I've got to go look some things up in the library. I think Van's in his meeting or whatever right now, but the garden courtyard is quite nice."

Hitomi stutters and stares at Merle, open-mouthed.

"Any of the maids can show you the way, or if you'd rather look in on the two you guys rode back in with last night, they're in the upper west wing, I'll see you sometime this afternoon if you don't go out riding again," then she pulls her head out the door and disappears.

"Merle!" Hitomi calls after her, but the cat woman is gone from the doorway and so Hitomi sits back down, folding her arms across her chest and making a displeased noise in her throat. The words repeat in her mind, '_Lord Van's already got it bad_,' and she snorts. _Sure thing, Merle, sure thing… why would anyone…_

Interrupting her thoughts comes the question, "Lady Hitomi, are you finished with your breakfast?"

She nods archly and asks, "Can you direct me to the west wing?"

The maid curtsies and nods.

***

Sitting up, he groans and puts a hand to his head, only to find bandages running from his palm to his elbow. _What the…? When did she do that?_

Glancing around the room he takes in his surroundings.

_ That bright light… where did it take us? All I remember is that afterwards we were in these trees… and then I blacked out. She must've carried me, but…_

There is talking on the other side of the door and then it opens and a woman enters. He glances up at her nervously and then freezes.

"Oh, you're awake," she says, obviously pleased.

Staring straight into her eyes he nods.

"You must be bewildered, my name's Hitomi Kanzaki. I suppose I should welcome you to Fanelia."

"Fan-elia?" he asks, feeling a heavy accent in his voice in comparison to hers. He coughs slightly to clear his throat and she brings over a glass of water, holding it up to his lips as she takes a seat in the chair beside his bed.

"Yes, Fanelia." She seems somewhat uneasy and so he smiles, wanting her to trust him. "You don't sound like you're from around here… that's all right, I'm not from Fanelia either."

There is a pause in which he sips some more of the water.

"So, what's your name?" she asks him.

"Tristan," he replies. After another moment's pause he asks, "I was brought here… was there a young woman with me?"

Hitomi nods and motions across the room. "She was more badly injured than you were, and she hasn't been able to stay awake for very long."

Tristan frowns as he takes in the amount of bandages covering her body, imagining the ones underneath the covers and the thin robe she had been covered in to sleep with. "What happened that she was so badly wounded?" Hitomi asks.

"She took the shot that was meant for me…" he says quietly. Hitomi gasps. "And then we had to fight our way out. She's much better with her sword than I am with one, and I'd lost mine by that time."

"You let her get shot for you?" Hitomi asks, exclaiming somewhat loudly.

"I didn't have much of a choice, she threw herself forward and shoved me away as it was fired," he responds, a frown marring his pale features. "I tried to get her to leave me there, but she wouldn't…"

"Don't tell her any more," a high alto voice cuts Tristan off. "You've told her more than enough already."

"Arik, this woman hasn't done anything to us, nothing wrong, and we're guests of her country," Tristan replies with a little anger in his voice. "Show some respect."

"It's not _her_ country, this country is ruled by a king," the prone figure responds. "And as much as I'm sure you enjoy having someone with manners to speak with, they get you so far and then they get you dead. Since it's my job to keep that from happening…" she groans and pushes herself up into a sitting position.

"Arik!" Tristan exclaims.

Hitomi gets to her feet and moves to the other bed, arms out to catch the young woman as she collapses. "I might not be a doctor, but I know you're not ready to be moving around so much!"

Arik glances up at the kind face and pauses. "Priestess?" she asks bewildered.

"No," Tristan says quietly. "She's not my mother."

"Who are you?" Arik asks with a vicious gleam in her gray eyes. Hitomi continues to support her upper body, laying her back against the pillows carefully.

"Hitomi Kanzaki," she replies. "I'm a friend of the king of this country."

Just then the door opens and Van's voice precedes him into the room, "Hitomi…?"

In a sudden show of strength, Arik grabs Hitomi's wrist and twists, startling her and giving the invalid young woman the advantage.

***

Van freezes as the voice tells him to do so. He takes in the scene before him and anger flares up in him. "Let her go!"

A second voice commands the same and the young woman on the bed does so, glaring at the young man across the room. "Who are you?" she snaps at Van.

"Who the hell are you?" he retorts, just as heatedly.

"Van…" Hitomi says softly as he helps her to her feet and pulls her close, glancing over her for any scars.

"Arik, stop this right now!" the young man in the bed across the room shouts. "I demand it this instant!"

The gray eyed young woman glances at the young man and leans back, muttering to herself as her muscles go slack. "Your Highness, I'm utterly sorry we've inconvenienced you in this way," he begins.

"And for that matter," Van says in a loud voice, "who are _you_?"

The young man smiles slightly and says, "Tristan Senegro, High Priest of…"

"Of nothing, we barely escaped with our lives," the young woman says. "And you dropping your sword didn't help us out at all."

"High Priest of…"

Van interrupts him, "Who's she?" he nods his head in the gray eyed woman's direction. "And where did you escape from?"

Tristan, seemingly unperturbed at being interrupted and having his title ignored, nods acquiescently and says, "Arik Dulchap, my personal bodyguard. We were forced to flee from Ispano when there was an uprising."

"Ispano?" Hitomi asks, going stiff. "You're from Ispano?"

Tristan nods, brown eyes looking slightly sentimental before he closes them, obviously remembering. "Oh now you've done it," Arik says, rolling her eyes, "Once he gets started talking about his homeland he never stops."


	9. Eight Memory Fever

**Amoro Revidi**

Title: Memory Fever [Part Eight]  
Series: Vision of Escaflowne  
Rating: PG-13 [torture]  
_A/N: Part 8... I really, really should be doing homework instead of writing these, but call me a glutton for punishment or just a really dedicated writer. Besides, I like to try and keep you guys happy, ^_~. The house out of food was for a class project. And yes, you ask, how can she be in college if she's being assigned to play with her food? I don't know, but it was for a party as well as an architecture project._

*** 

"You're from Ispano?" Van repeats, face blank.

Tristan smiles and nods. "A simple land, really…"

"That's on the other side of Gaea." Van folds his arms on his chest. "If Ispano was attacked, how did you end up inside Fanelia's borders, wounded and bleeding freshly?" He gently disengages Hitomi, placing himself before her and between the two beds inside the room.

Arik snorts and closes her eyes, "Tristan's responsible for that, I just got brought along for the ride."

"I summoned the might of the ancients during a time of need," Tristan says cryptically.

Arik rolls her eyes. "Which, in common language, means that a bright column of light descended from the sky to get us out of the danger zone. After that… I carried him."

Hitomi grips the back of Van's shirt. "Is that supposed to happen?" she asks in a whisper. "I didn't know that anyone else knew how to…"

"Pardon me, everyone," Merle says from the door where she's leaning and watching them all with disinterested intensity. "But I need to speak to Lord Van."

Hitomi, put on the spot, nods and leaves the room quickly. Van does not even glance after her, but nods. "You'll excuse me then?" he says, eyeing Tristan distrustfully.

"Of course. We are, after all, either your guests… or your prisoners."

Arik closes her eyes again as Van heads out of the room, one eye cracked alertly as Merle closes the door behind the two of them.

***

"What is it, Merle?"

"Have you taken the time to look over her weapon?" she asks quietly. "It bears a striking resemblance to the ones those kidnappers had."

"Merle, this is not the time to worry about the past," Van says angrily. "Somehow…" his hand strays to the pendant he wears at his neck, still on a small golden chain around his neck. "Somehow this 'Tristan' can control the columns of light that only I… and Hitomi… have ever been able to…"

"Lord Van!" Merle snaps, gripping his upper arms and shaking him once and pulling his face up to look her in the eye. "What does it matter? Do you honestly think you're the only one to ever experience that?" she growls, low in her throat and sneers. "You can't honestly tell me that with all we learned in Atlantis you think that the two of you were the only ones to ever use the damn things, do you?"

Van's eyes widen and he glares at her. "Merle," he begins in a harsh tone, glancing around to see whether or not they are alone. Seeing that they are, he blinks, "Merle… where's Hitomi?"

***

Running as fast as her still sore legs can carry her, Hitomi finds herself in the stable, hands moving about around her and keeping their gazes to the ground. She doubles over, breathing deeply and feeling a wave of exhaustion surging up inside her.

Looking around she wanders slowly, staggering slightly in the mid-calf length gown as she makes her way to the stall of the horse she rode the prior evening. As though understanding her dejected mood, it neighs softly, extending its nose to nuzzle her gently.

She smiles fondly and pets its head, feeling the soothing bulk of the animal transferring to her as she strokes its soft nose. "Hey there, Crisslis," she whispers and the mare's ears prick forward at the mention of her name. "I bet you don't have to worry about this sort of thing… torn between two planets, two homes… nowhere left to go."

Moving sluggishly she opens the stall door and steps in to lean against the mare's shoulder, stroking the soft mane between her fingers and inhaling the earthy scent of the stables. "I bet if you had to choose what to do you would have done so long ago," she whispers quietly, voice barely a coo, "I bet you wouldn't hesitate before stepping out into the storm all around you."

The mare lets out a small neigh, head bearing back to nudge Hitomi's shoulder gently before motioning towards a brush on the wall.

Hitomi smiles and whispers, "I get it, if you're going to listen I've got to brush you?" The mare flicks an ear back, as though amused by the concept, as though she can understand Hitomi's words and she reaches for the brush.

Slowly she runs the brush over the mare's neck, experimenting with the touch of the large object against its fur. The horse lowers its head.

***

Staring at the back of her eyelids restlessly, Arik struggles against her exhaustion. A low voice in the back of her mind says, _Sleep child, you have much to recover from._

Gently the maids turn her over, redressing her wound behind the screen set up between her side of the spacious room and Tristan's. She hears their voices distantly as her face is pressed against the pillow and she closes her eyes tighter against the low murmur of the servant's voices.

"Those scars on her back must be a painful hindrance," one says, sponging her upper shoulder blades.

"I wonder how she got them?"

_ Wonder how she got them… as if it weren't obvious._ Arik thinks with a mental sneer. Biting her lower lip she finds herself forced to listen to their continued conversation.

"Helen, it's not nice to wonder such things," the first maid admonishes. "It's none of our business how she got the scars."

*

**_ Cracksnap!_**

*

Arik tries, in vain to fall asleep, but the echo of the whip in her mind keeps her awake. Keeping her eyes closed tightly she clutches at the sheets with weak hands.

Her awareness of the stone room around her fades and she sees through the eyes of memory. Her arms are bound and spread high above her head, her feet chained together and to the floor.

*

**_ Cracksnap!_**

_ You should give in, High Priest, and save your pretty little plaything the pain._

*

A choked noise comes from Arik's throat and the two maids fall silent, washing her wounds more carefully. "We did not mean to hurt you," Helen says.

*

**_ Cracksnap!_**

*

Tristan glances at her to see how she is holding up under such abusive treatment. She meets his eye and shakes her head. He stands stock still and silent at the bars of his cage. Her hands ball into tight fists on the sheets.

*

**_ Cracksnap!_**

_ You know, Priest, I don't think your little toy can take much more of this. You should really tell me what I want to know._

_ Rebel bastards…_ Arik feels unshed tears in her eyes and keeps her eyes tightly shut to keep them from her face.

*

The two maids look uneasily at each other, beginning to wrap the bandages around her upper body again, carefully.

In her mind's eye, the rebel captain takes a step towards her, hand reaching out to draw down the bloody lines on her back. She tenses as the two women secure the bandage around her midsection snugly.

*

_ The blood of the innocent,_ the rebel captain says with a sneering smirk, _always smells so fresh, eh, Priest?_ He crosses to hold his bloody hand before Tristan's face. He looks at her with pleading eyes and a blank face.

Still she shakes her head, imperceptibly.

'_No. I will be strong…_' she thinks and remembers, hands unclenching as she lets the pain sink from her mind.

_ Still not talking?_

**_ Cracksnap! CrackSNAP!_**

*

Finally the pain bubbles forth from within her and she cries out into the soft cushion of the pillow. The two maids look at each other and cover her with the sheet quickly, leaving to call the healer to come and look over her prone form.

"Arik?" Tristan calls after watching the two women leave the room. With a slight groan he gets up out of his own bed and crosses, drawing the screen aside with his uninjured arm.

*

**_ Cracksnap! CRACKsnap! CRACKSNAP!_**

_ Captain, you're killing her,_ one of the rebel guards says. _The Priest isn't talking, and we _were_ ordered to keep the two of them alive._

_ Are you questioning my actions?_ The captain asks, crossly.

**_ CrackSNAP!_**

*

Arik cannot hide her tears and they flow freely down her face. Tristan lays a hand on her forehead and pulls back with a slight jolt. "You've got a fever," he responds. "Arik, snap out of it!" he puts one hand to her shoulder and shakes her gently.

***

Van paces unhappily on the battlements, looking past the crenels down at the central atrium and surrounding courtyard. He had started looking for Hitomi almost as soon as he had realized she'd run off, but still he hadn't found a sign of her.

Merle approaches quietly, eyes downcast. "Lord Van," she says.

He turns to regard her, sword half drawn.

"What is it?" he asks in an anxious voice. "Hitomi…?"

"No. There's been a bad change in the young woman's condition. Her fever's risen considerably and she's apparently suffering from delusions."

"Let's go then," he says, moving into the doorway before her. He pauses as he stands at her shoulder and says, "Merle, it really… wasn't your fault."

Merle shakes her head violently and her tail curls around her leg in shame. "I was supposed to be able to protect you, Lord Van. I failed," she says in a shaky tone. "If I hadn't, if I had been strong enough then maybe I could've saved you the grief."

"There were thirteen of them, Merle, and both of us were armed with foreign weapons," Van replies, turning to regard her with compassionate eyes. "I should have been a stronger king, if I had then you wouldn't have been forced into that situation."

She continues to stare straight ahead. "Regardless, you know I'll be spending the next week with the Kathis."

Van sighs unhappily and nods. "If you feel you must," he says dejectedly. "I really wish that you'd come with us to Asturia. Chid will be there, and you haven't seen him in ages, and…"

"Please, Lord Van," Merle says in a low tone, looking down at the ground, "I cannot. I have not yet proved myself worthy."

_ To everyone you have,_ Van thinks to himself, _to everyone but yourself._ He starts to say something, but holds his tongue, turning to face her and drawing her into a warm hug. "So you think," he whispers as he pulls away. "Now, let's go see what's happening with…"

"Her name is Arik," Merle replies, brushing her hair behind her ear.

"What's happening with Arik," Van repeats, heading towards the temporary quarters the two injured guests had been put in.

After a moment's pause Merle turns and follows him, head low, tail still wrapped around her leg comfortingly. There is a small twitch of her shoulders and she pauses, forcing herself to move naturally.

***

After nearly an hour, Hitomi leans against Crisslis' side, tired out. The mare grazes slightly before her ears prick forward and she nudges Hitomi back behind her somewhat. "Oh, don't be silly, Crissy," Hitomi says, moving to stand at the stall door.

Outside the stall there is quite a commotion going on in the courtyard, servants running to and fro with pots and supplies and some just running with messages. Hitomi opens the door of the stall and ventures out, closing it absently behind her. Crisslis neighs softly, but she ignores the summons and stops one of the empty handed servants.

"What's going on?" she asks politely, with a confused smile on her face.

"One of the King's new guests has gotten much sicker, and the Lady Hitomi's disappeared…"

Hitomi sighs and rolls her eyes. "I haven't disappeared at all."

The shocked young man takes off his cap and bows at the waist, "Sorry, m'lady, I didn't recognize you."

Hitomi looks down and sees the amount of fur and dust on her gown. She chuckles and smiles at the young man, "No need to apologize. Can you show me where Van is?"

"Oh, yes, of course, Lady Hitomi, right this way," he says, ushering her to follow him and obviously forsaking whatever former occupation he had before him in order to show her the way.

_ Maybe one day I'll get the hang of this crazy castle, and stop being such a burden to people,_ Hitomi reasons. _Until then I guess I get to be lead around by the wrist until I can be of some use to someone._

***

Van stands at the foot of the bed and watches the healers' prognosis with concern. _Something is seriously wrong with this. She was talking and annoyed this afternoon._ He glances at Tristan and sees his furrowed brow.

"What do you think about so deeply over there?" Van asks, making no step towards him. Tristan, apparently startled, glances up with a confused expression at Van. "You heard me," he responds, glancing around for Merle, "what do you think is wrong?"

"The maids…" Tristan says vaguely, making some abstract gesture with his good hand, "they were talking about the scars on her back…"

"And what would that do to her?" Merle asks, kneeling next to the bed as the healers go off to make some poultice to draw the heat from her body. She lays a hand on the young woman's neck.

*

**_ Cracksnap!_**

The captain comes close to her and breathes in her ear, _It's a shame you're going to die on me, pretty thing, I'd have enjoyed getting to know you better._

*

Arik's body tenses and Merle pulls her hand back.

***

"Right through here, Lady Hitomi," the servant boy says, bowing and ushering her forward. Hitomi nods and smiles her thanks, pushing the door open and pausing to take in the scene.

On the one occupied bed the young woman, Arik, lies prone and sweating, her face tense and tears marring her tanned cheeks. Seated on the other bed, her companion, Tristan, glances at her worriedly, while Merle stands off to one side and Van paces beside the window.

Without saying a word, Hitomi enters the room and crosses to the bed. Van starts and says her name, a quiet whisper of, "Hitomi…" as she takes a seat on the stool next to the bed, laying a cool hand on Arik's forehead.

"Arik," she says quietly, unsure of herself and yet positive that she has to do something to stop the young woman's suffering.

***

The lights in the room go dim and Arik's exhausted eyes open. Trapped in his cage, Tristan blinks and says quietly, "Mother…"

Guards enter with the High Priestess and dispatch those rebels in the room. The captain of the rebels shrinks away at her approach. "_Edrick_," Iona says distastefully.

_ Iona…_ he snarls in response.

Walking straight past the brute swordsman, Iona raises a hand and touches Arik's back, the blood drying and disappearing at the touch, the wounds healing to scar tissue. And then, just as the healing touch would have taken them away, the sickening sound of sword meeting with an unprotected back is heard.

_ Mistress!_ Arik chokes out.

_ Mother!_ Tristan echoes, hands clenching on the bars of his cage.

Feeling a surge of strength, Arik wrenches her arms in the chains, finally tearing the thick bolts from the ceiling, but nearly toppling over with the weight of their fall. She whirls to see the High Priestess, a serenely calm smile on her face, fall into a kneeling position between Edrick and Arik.

With a snarl, Arik swings the chains in a powerful arc, crashing them into Edrick, whose sword arms are lifted to strike the final blow to the back of Iona's neck. Somewhat thrown off balance, Arik takes a staggering step forward, falling to her own knees.

***

"Hitomi?" Merle asks, reaching over to touch her friend's shoulder.

Hitomi looks down forlornly at Arik, a sad expression on her face as she collects herself from the memories, and Van comes to her side as her eyes drift closed and she passes out.

Tristan gets to his feet and approaches Arik's still form, glancing concernedly at Hitomi, who Van lifts and lies out on the bed he vacates. He kneels at Arik's side and places a hand on her breast bone, closing his eyes and concentrating.

Slowly, gray-red eyes open and blink away more unshed tears. "Sleep," Tristan says quietly, his voice a whisper as he leans over her and presses his lips to her forehead.

Gratefully, the gray eyes drift shut again, face blank and calm, feverish dreams gone as her skin cools down to normal temperatures.

Hitomi curls up on herself, bringing her knees to her chest, and Van, watching in helpless anger, grabs Tristan by the collar of the simple robe he was dressed in upon arriving and being treated. He hauls the other young man up to eye level and glares at him a moment before dragging him, unresisting, into the hall.

Merle glances at the two young women and then down at her feet before turning and following Van and Tristan into the hall.


	10. Nine Less the Mystery

**Amoro Revidi**

Title: Less the Mystery [Part Nine]  
Series: Vision of Escaflowne  
Rating: PG-13  
_A/N: Part 9... did everyone die off that was reviewing or did the last part suck that badly? Oh well, either way, the story goes on, and the plot continues..._

***

"What the hell just happened?" Van growls out at Tristan. He raises his hands to stave off the blame. "What was that in there?" he shakes the lanky young man to emphasize his intent.

"I do not know, Arik has never been taken to fits of delusion when she's awake, why should I know anything about her fevered dreams now?"

"That was more than just _fevered dreams_, and you damn well know it," Van growls. "If Hitomi's hurt…"

Merle coughs quietly, drawing the two young men's attention towards her. "Hitomi will be fine," she says evenly.

Van drops Tristan and he stumbles a moment before regaining his balance. "The only thing I can think of is that she was reliving a nightmare… maybe remembering when her back was wounded so badly."

Merle's ears prick forward and she takes a step closer to the Priest, "When was that?" she asks in a politely intrigued voice.

"Yes," Van says, voice deep, "tell us."

Tristan's glance, for once, turns cold as he looks at the King of Fanelia and he glances back at the door of the room. "Is there somewhere else we can discuss this?" he asks. "I'd really rather she not relapse again."

***

Hitomi sits up slowly, glancing around bewildered. Across the room she sees Arik lying with the cover drawn down from her body by the healers. Carefully, Hitomi slips from bed and crosses to the other woman's bed, gently drawing the blanket up to cover her exposed torso, covered only in the bandages.

Arik's face spreads into a serene smile and she leans back more comfortably into the pillow. Hitomi smiles softly and gets to her feet, heading towards the door to look for Van, Merle, and Tristan.

***

"She's been my bodyguard since I was twelve."

Van's arms are folded across his chest as he leans against the table in his study. Merle, seated on the corner of the smaller research table, files her nails while watching the High Priest intently from under pink bangs. "Go on," Van says, voice quiet.

"It was only a year ago that the troubles started in Ispano."

A knock comes to the door and Van glares at it before saying, "Come in."

"Your Highness," the messenger says, bowing deeply at the waist and then again to Merle, "Lady Merle," and he finally offers a brisk nod to Tristan before continuing, "the advisors are ready to go over the final preparations for Your Highness's and the Lady Hitomi's journey to Asturia next week."

Van nods, only half interested in the trip. "Tell them I'll stop by to look them over after lunch." The messenger nods, bows, and excuses himself.

"I don't mean to be a bother, but… did you say lunch?"

Crimson eyes turn to regard Tristan inquiringly. "Yes, I did."

"In all the commotion we missed lunch," Tristan explains placatingly.

"I'll have some brought to you. Now, as you were saying…"

***

Hitomi, having found no trace of anyone of note, returns to her chambers and lies down. _It's so boring when I can't find anyone,_ she thinks to herself, drawing her hand across her forehead to block some of the sunlight from her eyes. _I can't imagine ever spending my entire life like this… alone in a castle while Van goes to and from meetings and deals with policy. I think I'd go stir crazy if I only saw him at meals and at…_ a slight blush rises to her cheeks… _and at night._

With a self-deprecating grunt, she rolls over onto her side so that the sun comes in over her shoulder. _Where did that thought come from?_ she chides herself. _When did I start thinking about Van like that?_

A small voice in the back of her mind says, _From the moment you met him._

"Ridiculous," Hitomi sighs, eyes drooping downwards. She lets them close and pulls the blanket from the foot of her bed up and around herself.

***

"Millerna?" Dryden calls into his wife's chambers. Their shared bedroom linked the royal suite, and off to each side they had their own bit of personal space. It suited the two of them, but Dryden sometimes felt unwelcome in his wife's chambers, even though she never barred him entrance.

"Yes, Dryden?" she replies, standing straight and tall as her lady in waiting ties the bodice of her dress and then steps back, arranging the skirts. The fitting had to happen before the largest quantity of guests arrived because it was a matter of showing her best before the people.

"Have you seen Exeter?" he asks, glancing around the chamber from the ornate doorway. "It seems our son has taken a pen chance to hiding as his mother used to."

Millerna blushes slightly at the little reminder of her actions earlier on in the marriage. When she had been afraid of being too intimate with her husband she had taken up hiding in places he normally wouldn't venture. Dryden was always very careful about approaching her when it happened, checking all the places that he normally would go to in his search for her before going to the most obvious place to search her out.

She always saw it as a simple token of his love for her - that he would give her the time to prepare herself for the inevitable - and that was better, in her eyes, than any gold or jewel she'd ever been given. "Exeter, your father's looking for you," she says aloud into the rooms as Dryden crosses to stand next to her, offering a hand to help her down from the small footstool she had been standing on.

The young boy giggles and the chair near the bureau moves out to reveal him as he crawls up and comes over, launching himself at his father, who picks him up and tosses him into the air, catching him easily before smiling thankfully at Millerna.

"Thank you," he says, kissing her cheeks kindly, "I'd never have found him." Dryden glances around uneasily and then pats Exeter's bottom reprovingly as he carries him out the door.

"Dryden…" Millerna starts, but her husband only smiles and waves as he heads off into his own duties. She sighs, and glances to her lady in waiting to come forward and settle the crown upon her head so that she can take in the full effect of the outfit.

As she looks herself over in the full length mirror two things replay in her mind.

Dryden's words, things she had thought long forgotten, as he returned the wedding ring to her and left the castle. _So beautiful… even a goddess would be jealous…_ And another thing he had said after their wedding night, _Ah… do not worry, darling, two will play at the same game, and we are the same,_ he drew a hand over her shoulder and smoothed it down her side, _whether you know it or not._

Perhaps he had thought she was sleeping, curled up against his side as the moonlight filtered in through the window, or that she was trying her best to do so, but she had really only been holding her breath, afraid of what else he might have had in store for her.

But there had been no more that evening. He let his arm curl around her back, drawing her close to him, and laid down, staring at her face, wild hair aglow with the silvery light of the two moons. She always liked to remember that look on his face, as she peaked from beneath her lashes at him, fighting the urge to blush. His eyes were kind and his smile gentle, though it was obvious that he was not tired in the least he merely kissed her on the forehead and settled down to sleep.

Afterwards she had dismissed it as simply more of his romantic lyrics, but now she begins to wonder. Staring into the mirror she takes in the sight of herself as she has changed since the time, years ago, when they had been married.

Slightly taller, though the shoes accounted for much of that, broader of breast and hip, due to the bearing and feeding of Exeter, but still with the same trim waist and neck, pale blond hair falling down to cover her eyes somewhat as her lady in waiting holds it as it will be pinned when she is wearing the gown for the courtiers.

_ … two will play at the same game…_

_ Dryden, did you have a meaning to that I missed because I underestimated you? _she thinks to herself, glancing straight into her own eyes in the mirror. _I'm certainly the more timid of us in the bedroom, but…_

A sudden thought causes her to smile.

_ Oh, how precious. The playboy afraid of a woman?_ She holds up a hand to touch the mirror gently on her reflection's cheek and smiles broader, more feline like, _It seems I have misunderstood him again._

"Well, that will suffice, thank you," Millerna says, bowing her head as the crown is removed and stepping back up onto the stool. "I'll change out of this now."

_ Two _can_ play at this game, Dryden. You've brought me out of one shell… I think it's high time I brought you out of one too._

"M'lady?" the lady in waiting asks quietly.

"I'm going to go and attend to some business I have with the king, I'll take the gray gown from the closet," she says, holding her arms out as the maid nods, curtsies and moves about her task.

***

After returning with Tristan to the room Arik was in, and seeing to their meal being called up, Van had headed straight to Hitomi's room. Merle, somewhat disturbed, had gone to the library, leaving him alone with his thoughts.

He pulls open the outer chamber door and one of the maids assigned to attend Hitomi makes a startled noise and curtsies deeply. "Y-your Highness, I wasn't aware that you would be…"

"Relax," he says in a calm voice. "I've come to check in on the Lady Hitomi," he smiles inwardly at the use of that title with her name and asks, "Is she about?"

"Oh, yes, Majesty, she's taking a bit of a nap, it seems. Would you like me to wake her?" the maid asks brightly.

"She's decent, is she not?" he asks, pondering.

"Yes, Majesty, she is," the maid responds uncertainly.

"Then it won't be a problem for me to go in and wake her myself, do you think?" The maid, somewhat startled at the thought, shakes her head.

"I don't see why there should be one, Majesty, morally it's all right, since the Lady is your good friend and she is decently attired."

"Then I'll just show myself back, if you don't mind," he says, moving to the inner door and opening it quietly. As he makes his way back to the bedroom, a still silence comes upon his ears, as though the entire area was holding its breath to give her surcease of distractions to her sleep.

He closes the final door behind him very slowly, taking in the picturesque view of her, back to the window, light filtering down over her face and catching the golden tints in her hair, light coverlet drawn up over her haphazardly. A slow smile comes to his face as he looks at her, memorizing the scene for future reference.

_ She's so… perfect…_ he thinks to himself, and finds his eyes drawn down to the silhouette of her body under the thin cover before he looks away, slightly disturbed with himself. _She's been through a lot. She's been hurt… is hurting… and _this_ is what you find yourself confronted with? You are not going to hurt her by trying to love her, you are _not_ going to cause Hitomi any more grief than she's already had of you and Gaea and… life._

Cautiously he steps forward, sitting down on the bed carefully and placing his hand on her brow, brushing back a few locks of sandy golden hair from her temple. "Hitomi," he whispers, fingers lingering on her cheek.

"Mmm?" she murmurs, turning her face to press her cheek into his hand.

Shocked, he remains still for a moment before repeating softly, "Hitomi?"

"Van," she whispers in response, eyelids fluttering and a pleased smile spreading across her lips. She opens her mouth to say more but he presses his fingers to her lips gently. To his surprise, her lips gently place a kiss on his fingers.

He draws back, hand slipping down to touch her shoulder and shake her slightly. "Hitomi," he tries again.

An unintelligible, 'wha?' escapes her mouth as she yawns herself awake, eyes opening to regard him querulously. "Van?" her voice is startled.

He smiles, in what he hopes is a reassuring and appealing look, and her face lights up in happiness. She sits up, checking her gown as she does so to be sure it is closed properly, and draws her knees up on the bed.

"This is a pleasant surprise," she says, winking. "To what do I owe this honor?"

Confused by the nature of her response to his sudden appearance in her chambers, Van stutters a moment before saying, "I came to tell you that lunch would be ready soon…"

"That's all?" Hitomi asks, not so much displeased as amused.

"That and… I wanted to see you," he replies, looking down and away slightly. She blushes slightly and leans forward a little, kissing his cheek.

"That's sweet of you, Van," she says, leaning closer to him a little, closing her eyes in expectation.

For a moment, Van panics, looking around, expecting an audience of some sort, but no, the door remains shut securely, as are the windows. With a contented sigh, Van leans his face forward and meets Hitomi's lips in a shallow kiss.

***

Sneaking down into the armory once again, Merle carries with her a small dagger, concealed in the folds of her skirts, nodding to the guards outside the door and implying that she is going to practice and needs to use one of the swords kept within. The guards nod her inward and she goes quickly and quietly to the locked chest where Arik's weapon is concealed, making a swift motion of her claws and opening the chest.

Drawing the dagger from her clothes she holds it up next to the sword, a depressed sigh escaping her before she can help it.

_ It is as I thought._

She turns the dagger to bear the gemstone buried in the hilt and checks the sword's as well. _An exact match, stone for stone, marking for marking._

Closing the lid to the chest and grabbing a broadsword, she closes the lock, nodding to the guards and heading out to the training grounds.

_ The only problem is, none of those have been forged in almost a hundred years. So how did you get a hold of one, Arik?_

With an annoyed swish of her tail and an angry flick of her ear, she steps out into the practice area, selecting a dummy not being used by the other soldiers and samurai on the field. Saluting her 'foe', she lunges forward, making a swift chopping motion with the sword as she hammers out her own logic of the situation.

***

Blushing, she pulls back. "Van, isn't it time for lunch?"

The Fanelian King nods, one hand moving to his lips before he stands and moves slightly away. Hitomi pulls back the small cover and allows him to help her to her feet after she puts on the short boots she had shed upon getting into bed.

"How did speaking with Tristan go?" Hitomi asks as Van tucks her hand under his arm and leads her from the room.

"Quite informative, actually," Van replies, nodding to the maid on their way out. She beams and Van rolls his eyes as the door is shut quietly behind them.

"Oh really?"

"Yes, I learned quite a bit about he and Arik," the two of them round a corner and come to the balcony dining room where he pulls a seat out for her.

Looking around, Hitomi smiles at the pleasant surprise of seclusion as Van pushes the seat under the table for her. "In all the commotion I believe everyone else has already eaten," he says a little sheepishly. "I hope you don't mind?"

With a smile, Hitomi shakes her head. "Not at all, Van," she says in response. "I'm glad… to be able to spend some time with you."

He pauses amidst sitting down and looks over at her. "It _does_ feel like the last two days have measured eternities, doesn't it?"

Hitomi nods, making an affirmative noise in her throat at that idea. Servants enter bearing plates and he falls silent. She looks at him for a long moment before turning away. As the servants leave earshot he adds, "And… I'm glad to see you as well."


	11. Ten Habit

**Amoro Revidi**

Title: Habit [Part Ten]  
Series: Vision of Escaflowne  
Rating: PG-13  
_A/N: Part 10, and these parts do keep getting longer... that might be good and it might be bad, I don't know yet. If anyone wonders why I'm horribly up-rating these as for the age level, it's because I've become a firm believer in free choice, so long as it's informed. I'd rather warn people of what might offend them before I do, if I do. Anywho... that's my two cents for right now._

***

The meeting had gone well, in Peralis' opinion. The king was just as determined that he and the Lady Hitomi make it to the anniversary celebration in Palas as he and the other advisors were. Piling up his scrolls and tucking them under his arm he heads towards the library, glancing out at the practice area as a spar goes on.

He stops short as he sees a dark gray skirt rustle in the wind and hears a familiar voice call out, "Next!"

"Lady Merle?" Peralis asks, stepping closer to the railing and peering over it to get a better view.

In the center of the medium sized courtyard the ring of practicing soldiers stands, a few helping up their fallen comrade as he stumbles on his way out of the ring. Merle, sword standing upright in the ground behind her, has her the white sleeves of her gown rolled up, and the dark vest bodice buttoned all the way up to her neck, pink hair tied off in a quick braid with just a little perspiration dotting her brow, ice blue eyes alert and preoccupied.

From the number of young men seated around the circle it is obvious to Peralis that she offered to spar them for their own instruction and to get a little practice for herself. Glancing around for more volunteers to spar, she nods in a gesture of finality and turns, pulling her sword from the dirt and kicking it against the back of her heel twice to rid it of the dirt collected from its stay in the ground before tucking it under her arm and rolling down her sleeves.

Peralis puzzles over this behavior from the normally polite cat woman and hurries down the stairs to catch her on her way into the armory. "Lady Merle!"

As he approaches, her entire body stiffens, tail latching around her leg comfortingly. "Chief Advisor Peralis," she responds evenly.

"I noticed the display just now," he says as he catches up to her. "Might I inquire as to what is bothering you?"

"What makes you think that something is bothering me?"

"One does not normally best ten soldiers in a row without some extraneous motivation," he replies, glancing over at her slightly before training his gaze forward.

"Where's Lord Van?" she asks, ignoring the implication in Peralis' words.

"I believe he is having lunch with Lady Hitomi," he says slowly, "why?"

"Good… that is as it should be," Merle replies cryptically. She sets the sword back into place and turns to leave. She finds him standing right in front of her. "Anything else?" she snaps.

"Ah, I…" he steps out of her way and she flicks her tail distastefully as she passes out of the armory quickly.

***

Days passed in relatively the same routine. Hitomi woke, bathed, dressed, chatted with Merle, visited Tristan and Arik to see how they were recovering, and then she would have lunch with Van and spend the afternoon with him. It comforted her to have so much of a routine established.

On her fifth day in Gaea, however, she is roused from bed early.

"Lady Hitomi!" the maid says urgently, shaking her shoulder gently. "M'lady, it's past time to wake up, we've got to do the last of the fittings before you have to go and visit the shrine this morning."

Sitting up, startled, she glances around wildly. "What?"

The night before Van had come to the room late and asked that she come out on a walk with him. The two had gone all over the castle, talking quietly about things, and not. The walk tour took a long pause as they reached the stables and she stopped to check in on Crisslis, who, recognizing her recent rider, had showed the pair of them an obvious welcome.

It had been a beautiful moment as the moonlight outside cast reflections in the small pools the late evening rain had made on the ground that made circles on the ceiling of the stall. He slipped his hand around her waist and pulled her up against him. Her palms rested against his chest and she looked up at him in confusion. "_Hitomi, I…_"

Without hesitating, she had leaned up the few inches between them and kissed him, straight on the lips. After a short pause he responded in kind, other arm sliding around to hold her to him, bracing her waist gently and yet firmly.

Recalling the evening and the reason for her tiredness, Hitomi blushes, climbing swiftly from her bed and washing quickly. A flurry of skirts and dresses, bodices and loose corsets as the seamstresses go to work.

_ Stand up, walk, kneel, sit down. _Hitomi repeats the sequence in her mind as she moves about the main chamber of her rooms. Glancing towards the window she yawns as she notes the sun only just about to rise. _Van is this really what you do all day?_ she asks him in her mind, slightly dejected that a king would waste his time with servants fitting him for this or that and advisors asking about one thing or another while squabbling over his attire.

"Lady Hitomi, Lady Merle said that it was all right to break for breakfast, if you'd like." Hitomi looks down at the maidservant from atop the stool and looks puzzled. "His Highness would like you to join him for breakfast before you head out to the shrine."

"You keep mentioning…"

"You really shouldn't keep him waiting," Merle says from the doorway where she leans against the frame and watches, arms folded across her chest.

Hitomi glances at her friend and gives her a puzzling look as well.

"I think it's cute," Merle says as the maidservants raise a screen for Hitomi to change behind and then exit the room. She pushes off the doorframe and comes to stand by the fire, kneeling and holding her hands in front of it. "The two of you are so timid around each other, and yet everyone else seems to already know that you're made for each other."

"Merle," Hitomi says in a quiet voice, pausing as she pulls the bodice of the dress over her head, "do you hound Van about me the way you hound me about him?"

She pauses, a mischievous grin on her face, "Only when he needs it. Surprisingly," Merle pauses to emphasize this point, "he's seemed to have gotten his mind made up about how he feels about you."

"Oh?" Hitomi looks down, blushing, "and just… how is that?"

"If you have to ask…" Merle's tail swishes from side to side as though that act alone could warm the entire room of stone in the chill morning air.

Hitomi throws her hands up in disgust and finishes with the skirt of the gown she is to wear to breakfast, feeling horribly overdressed just to eat the first meal of the day, and comes out from behind the screen.

Merle turns to look at her and freezes, almost catching her tail on fire as she does so. Hitomi glares and then takes a step back. "I didn't put it on backwards again, did I?"

Quietly, the blue eyed cat woman shakes her head. "N-no… but if he didn't know before, he'd know now." After a short pause, Merle gets to her feet again and opens the door. "Come on, before he starts throwing a temper tantrum."

"Van, throw a tantrum?" Hitomi asks in mock-disbelief. "I'd never thought he was capable of it."

***

Slightly agitated at the slowness of the morning, and the hour, Van paces, mind preoccupied. Tristan enters the small dining room, as a guest of Van's he had been asked to attend breakfast the last day before the king's departure. Just behind him Arik shuffles in, bandages fresh and still only dressed in a light robe, with a blanket drawn around her to stave off the early morning chill.

"Good morning, Your Majesty," Tristan says, bowing quite deeply.

Arik mimics the movement, shallower because of her injuries, but the intent still the same. Behind the two of them Merle and Hitomi enter.

"Good morning," he says warmly as they all take their places at the table. His advisors and the resident lords enter after Van's special guests and take seats at the surrounding tables.

"Van, what is this about visiting the shrine?" Hitomi asks, puzzled.

"It has become customary that I visit the shrine before I leave the country, to ask for Escaflowne's protection during the trip away from Fanelia, that he may watch over the country and protect the people in my absence." Van begins to eat his eggs and glances at the other people seated at the table, "I will be asking for more than just the citizens this time, but also for Tristan and Arik."

The two in question bow their heads slightly in thanks for the extended protection of Fanelia and its king. Merle eats quietly, looking at her plate.

"We'll also be wishing Merle a safe journey," Van adds quietly.

"Merle? Aren't you coming with us?"

The cat woman shakes her head and says quietly, "Circumstances do not permit me to accompany the two of you this time, Hitomi," she says in a low voice. "I've… a prior engagement that I must uphold."

"What could be more important than accompanying the two of us?" Hitomi asks, somewhat repetitively, having had the same discussion with Merle several times since her arrival.

"Sometimes," Arik speaks up for the first time since the conversation began, "it is necessary to separate oneself from responsibility… in order to better serve the purpose of that which is most important to you."

Tristan glances over at her in some alarm. "Arik…?"

She does not comment further, but looks directly at Merle, in understanding.

"Regardless, I cannot shirk this engagement, Hitomi," Merle says in the same low voice, "I would have had to leave the castle for the next week even if you hadn't arrived back in Gaea. It has been… very nice to see you again."

Van, sitting back somewhat in his chair, gently brushes Hitomi's ankle with the toe of his boot. She turns to look at him and he shakes his head slightly. _It is hard enough for Merle to leave, I don't think Hitomi would understand, but she's only hurting Merle that much more by asking all these questions._

"Well I'll see you again before I head back," Hitomi says with a small smile. _What is going on here?_ She asks herself in her mind, _And why is Van asking me to let it go? He'd better have a good reason for this._

The meal continues in relative silence after that and then they all break up to go their separate ways, so to speak. Van offers Hitomi his arm and heads towards the shrine with her in tow, Merle goes off to prepare for her journey, and Tristan and Arik head off about their own business - Arik to a bed and Tristan to have his bandages changed.

***

In the shrine there are several of what appear to be priests gathered before the kneeling Escaflowne. Hitomi's heart swells a little as she sees the mighty guymelef standing in the clearing near the graves, remembering her parting words to Van in the same area years before.

_ I'll never forget you, Van, not even when I'm old!_

He had smiled rather sadly and waved as she lifted up into the sky, towards home, her family, and towards the Earth.

Glancing up at it in the sky for a moment she feels no such ties pulling her back. For a long, sad moment, she recalls the accident and the last moments of her consciousness before the incredible pain and then waking up, unable to move, in the sterile hospital room.

Van, glancing down to see her pale face, covers the hand on his arm with his own and squeezes gently, reminding her of her present environment. The memory vanishes quickly, slipping away like early morning mist under the force of the sun and she glances up at him. "You were somewhere else, just now…" Van comments with a caring smile, "but I don't think anyone else noticed."

Slowly, he releases her hand and she lets go of his arm. He takes a step forward and then looks at the assemblage before kneeling. Those gathered kneel with him.

"Oh Escaflowne, mighty protector of the Land of Dragons, I bid you protect this great nation while I, Van Slanzar de Fanel, the King of Fanelia, am away."

The priests rise and recite, "We bless the will of you, Lord King, and pray for your safe travels from our rocky borders…"

Hitomi focuses elsewhere as the ceremony continues and the priests grant their blessing for Van's time of absence from his country. _How annoying it must be to have to go through all this just to leave the country. I mean, every time he wants to step outside the castle, it seems, he's got to ask permission. Not that they would really stop him, but if they had a problem with it, I bet he wouldn't go._

"And to the Lady Hitomi, we thank you for your time here in Fanelia and pray that your time spent in Asturia can be as beneficial for you and His Highness, Lord King Van, as it was for the people of Fanelia."

She bows her head and stares down at the sight of the gown spreading around her on the ground. _It seems so odd to be staring at this ground again… I wonder if it is the same spot where Van was standing when we said our goodbyes the last time._

"Rise, Lord King, Lady Hitomi, and know that as you depart tomorrow, the well wishes of Fanelia go with you, and the blessing of Escaflowne as well."

Van turns and offers her his hand. She smiles and bows her head again for a moment before taking his hand and rising to her feet. She had argued with Van about the necessity of her attending the ceremony in the first place, but he had explained that he would be forced to go with or without her, and the council might see that she disapproved of honoring Escaflowne and Fanelia by missing it.

"We now go to make peace with those that have departed," Van announces as the assembly stands as well, then he tucks Hitomi's hand into his elbow and moves towards the far end of the clearing, intending to enter the woods and seek out the burial chamber of his family and ancestors.

***

"You said some interesting things at breakfast," Merle says in a quiet voice, leaning against the thick pillar near the windows of Arik's room.

The bodyguard reclines in her bed, hair fanned out on the pillow around her, and she nods slowly, eyes closed. "I understand the situation you come from, I intended only to support your actions."

"How can you possibly…" Merle begins, venom in her words.

"That dagger you carry is enough to cause me to support you," Arik comments, "and no doubt you have seen the sword I carry, so then you must know that we were both trained in the same ways."

"I do not know what you are talking about," Merle responds evenly. "I know only that the sword you carry has not been in assembly for nearly a hundred years."

"Then you must know whether or not it is authentic to the Kathis production," Arik says. With a hiss and the whistle of her dagger through the air, Merle comes to stop just over the dark haired young woman's jugular. "I, too, was forced into their service," she says in a voice barely above a whisper, "it is how I was assigned to guard Tristan, it is why I have been at his side, protecting him to the best of my ability, for almost ten years."

"You speak as though you care about your assignment," Merle says with an angry snort. "You are no better than they are, if you think of him as such."

"Lady Merle, slitting my throat will endanger your king in the eyes of the Kathis. We are not supposed to take one another out are we?" Merle retracts the dagger, a glare in her blue eyes that sparkle in the morning sunshine coming in the large windows. "And no, Tristan is not just my assignment, I was only fourteen when I was sent to guard him, so you might as well just say that we've grown up together over the last ten years."

Merle, taken aback at that thought, takes a step backwards from the woman lying prone. A single gray eye opens and glances at her. "Yes, I was that young when it all happened to me. I take it your case was somewhat similar?"

With a flick of her tail in annoyance, Merle turns and moves towards the door.

"I failed him once too, you know," Arik responds. "I wasn't strong enough… and his mother was killed because of it," she closes her eye again, letting her body take over and drift off into a dreamless sleep.

Merle stiffens momentarily before heading out into the hall and closing the door behind herself. The final words trail after her, _I failed him once too, you know… I wasn't strong enough…_

She looks down and away from the center of the hall before taking a quick, powerful step forward and moving off down towards her own chambers to finish her preparations, the soft morning light agitating her mood even more.

***

Tristan sits with the advisors and discusses the situation in Ispano, mind wandering. _I wish I could have gone to see the shrine to this _Escaflowne_ they all praise so highly. I was still too young during the Great War to see it in action, but I know that it and King Van were instrumental in ending the war._

He is handed a book to look through on armor and weapon types and he nods, somewhat disinterestedly. _As was Lady Hitomi. I wish mother could have lived to meet her, she would have been her fast friend, I think._

***

Chid climbs down from the _Crusade_ and looks about for his aunt, who smiles and straightens to see him descending the gangplank. Behind him, Allen walks with quiet intensity, stepping forward first to kneel to the king and queen and then rising to embrace his sister, Celena.

"Chid, how wonderful to see you again, how you've grown!" Millerna says, smiling at her nephew, who is picking up Exeter and saying his hellos to the young crown prince.

"It's a treat seeing you too, Aunt Millerna," he replies with a smile. "Uncle Dryden," he makes a formal bow to the King of Asturia, who smiles and ruffles the young Duke's hair. "Am I the first to arrive?"

Millerna chuckles, taking Dryden's offered arm and allowing one of her ladies in waiting to pick up Exeter and carry him along behind them, "Not nearly, but the first of any real note."

"Ah… I'd heard that King Van would be attending, is that the truth?" his voice retains the childish aspect of awe at the 'Dragon King' of Fanelia's mention.

"Yes, it is indeed," Millerna replies, "and Hitomi will be back," she adds with some indifference.

"Hitomi? You're kidding!" Chid exclaims happily, "I never thought I'd see her again, I wonder what's changed?"

Dryden says in a mumble, "Perhaps Fanelia's disposition towards his heart," and Millerna, who had been close enough to hear his remark, turns to regard him querulously. "Nothing," he replies with a smile, waiting as the doors to the carriage are opened by Allen Schezar himself.

Celena waits until the others are situated to ascend into the coach with her brother's assistance before he climbs to sit behind the reigns of the carriage with its driver.

"Ah, Celena," Chid says with a smile, "I trust you've been doing well? I haven't seen much of you, despite Allen speaking about you."

"Quite well, Duke Chid," she replies, looking down at her hands folded in her lap.

"Are we such strangers?" Chid says, "You are Allen Schezar's sister, and he is much a friend of Freid, please, Celena, call me Chid."

"Yes, Chid," Celena says, feeling a bit uncomfortable so close to her own nephew. Still without knowledge of their relation, the young Duke of Freid leans his head on his hand and glances out the window of the carriage at the passing scenery, much pleased with her acquiescence.

Millerna frowns slightly, but says nothing.

***

After a long ceremony, Hitomi finds herself quite tired as she and Van make their way to the graves of the royal family. She slows down slightly and he looks at her in worry. "Hitomi?"

"I'm just a little tired, is all, Van," she replies to his gentle query.

"I shouldn't have kept you up so late last night," he says in a glum voice. "I apologize."

"No," she says in response, "please… don't…"

He pauses his stride completely. "Don't what?"

For a moment uncertainty flares in her, and then she looks up at him and says, "Don't be sorry for what happened between us, Van… please… tell me… the truth. I need to know if… if you didn't want it to happen…"

Van regards her through crimson eyes clouded with confusion. "Didn't want it to happen?" she starts to pull away, assuming that is his answer, but he puts a hand over hers on his arm to stop her. "Hitomi, I… I've wanted it to happen ever since… I can't even remember."

She pauses, shocked to hear such words from his lips, and looks at him, somewhat wide eyed. There is a long moment of silence as his words sink into both of them, and then he gestures forward.

She nods and the two of them continue towards the crypt.


	12. Eleven Rendezvous

**Amoro Revidi**

Title: Rendezvous [Part Eleven]  
Series: Vision of Escaflowne  
Rating: PG-13  
_A/N: Part 11, fun times trying to keep this all straight in my head. Oh well, when I get home on Saturday I should be getting my mini cassette recorder and then I'll be able to keep better notes on the story, wish me luck._

***

Once they had set out, the caravan had made good progress through Fanelian territory. Hitomi had refused to ride in the coach the advisors had insisted be brought along for both her and Van, but neither she nor Van made use of it during the journey, preferring to ride the horses they had been riding since her arrival.

Hitomi glances over at Van, who sits tall in his saddle, eyes scanning the forest area around them uncertainly. "Van?" she asks quietly.

He starts and turns to look at her. "Ah…?" he inquires softly.

"What do you keep looking for in the forest, Van?"

He smiles over at her, "I can't stop looking for enemies."

She frowns slightly, "For once, Van, let go of it, we aren't in any danger and we aren't going to be attacked."

He settles a little in his saddle, contemplating her words. "Perhaps you're right," he says skeptically, "but I won't be so careless with your life," he pauses a moment to glance at her fondly, "or mine."

***

"Arik, what are you doing up?"

"I've got…" leaning against a chair as she pulls on her cleaned garments, she stumbles a little, "to start getting back into shape."

Tristan frowns and she raises a hand between the two of them, stopping his words before he even opens his mouth, head bowed, face obscured by dark hair. "I know what you're going to say, but it doesn't change what I must do. I am sworn to protect you, and I can't do that if I've slept off all my muscles allowing my upper body to recover, can I?"

She straightens, slender shoulders setting, and moves towards the doorway of her chamber. She pauses to glance at him, gray eyes almost immediately turning back to look at her target, the door. Upon her next footfall, however, a spasm shoots through her back and she crumples.

He catches her and frowns. "You can't protect me at all if you're dead, Arik," he says in a low tone, chastising. "You are so wrapped up in this duty of yours to me that you won't even take the time to see that you're killing yourself?" he lays one hand gently on her back, between her shoulder blades. "You carried me, with all those cuts on your back, until they forced you to give out, and even then you threw me over your shoulder and dragged me to the edge of the forest. I can't believe you think you're doing me any service by wearing yourself into the ground, now I want you to stop this foolishness, this instant."

She grunts, shoving him away and standing unsteadily on shaky legs, knees together. "I… don't need your pity," she says in a harsh tone, eyes still invisible to his gaze. "I know very well what I am and am not doing, and right now I am not having this discussion with you."

Tristan glares and folds his arms on his chest. "Then when will we have it?"

She tosses her head towards him and glowers. "Never. It is not your place to worry about what I do with my own body." Arik's voice lowers as she says, "Just so long as it continues to act as a shield to yours, all is well."

With an angry cry he advances on her, grasping her by the upper arms and shaking her, just once. "Get your hands off me!" Arik cries as soon as they land on her. "Don't touch me!"

"Damnit woman!" he growls out, shaking her again. "Will you listen to me? To yourself?" he pauses and she begins to struggle. Finally Tristan relinquishes his hold on her arms.

"Don't… stay back," she says in a weak, exhausted tone. "I won't have you defile yourself by…"

"Arik, what's gotten in to you? Weren't we… friends… at least, once? Weren't we? Whatever happened, you said, you would always be there for me. You aren't going to be able to do that if you don't rest!"

"I can't let you get that close to me, not now, not ever. I'm your bodyguard, High Priest, and nothing more. If you can't accept that it has to be that way then I will have to prove to you why it must, now step away and let me get to the door."

He takes a step back and watches as she makes her way to the large oak door, pulling on it weakly. Slowly, she sinks down to her knees, grip slackening. He glares and comes over, lifting her to her feet in his arms and throwing one arm around his neck. "And what happens… dear bodyguard, when you cannot make it to the armory to retrieve your sword, much less open the door?" There is no response. "Simply put, we need each other. We're here in a foreign place with little safety to ourselves and I won't just sit by and let you endanger yourself or even me, true, by throwing yourself about recklessly."

She groans as he lies her down in the bed.

"I order you to wait until I can heal your wounds before you go practice."

"You can't-"

"As the person you are guarding, and your High Priest, I can, I am, and I have," he replies, pulling off her boots. "Now, take the covers," he pulls them up to her chest, "close your eyes, and go to sleep."

"Damned traitorous body," she murmurs as he leans over her and kisses her forehead, "and damn you for making me sleep, Tristan…"

"Damn me all you want when you're well, and can smack your sense into me," he smiles calmly, "but for right now, just get some sleep, Arik."

"I've been…" she yawns, "sleeping for…" again, "almost a week."

"Give it another day and I should be able to heal you," he says, brushing her hair from her eyes with a tender hand. "Then you can go cavorting all over the castle and hack up all the practice dummies that you want to. But until then, just _rest_."

***

"How much longer?" Chid asks Allen as the captain of the _Crusade_ prepares his ship by overseeing the supply load. The young Duke had asked leave to come and watch the activities, since most of the other activities were boring to him.

Allen and Millerna had both agreed, so Dryden had logically granted the request of the young Duke's excusal for the day. "We should set sail just before sunset," Allen replies.

"And then how long until Hitomi and King Van arrive?"

Allen smiles tolerantly at Chid and says, "Depends on the weather, could be in two days, could be in three," he moves forward, calling to Gaddes to inquire about some of the supplies.

"You sure that we need all this stuff, boss?" he asks, scratching his chin.

"Quite. It isn't very often that Van leaves Fanelia, and even rarer is it that Hitomi makes a trip to Gaea," he says.

"She hasn't been around since the Great War, if I recall correctly," Gaddes adds.

"No, she hasn't. So I want this trip to be nice for the two of them."

"It'll be nice to see them again, won't it?" Chid asks as he leans against one of the waiting crates. "I wonder what's changed about them since I saw them last," he asks wistfully to no one in particular.

"They've aged," one of Allen's crew says with a smirk and a wink at the young Duke. Chid chuckles lightheartedly and waves.

***

Sitting in the large tent around the fire pit, Van eats his dinner quietly, looking across the flames at Hitomi, face bathed in the warm glow and framed against the dark color of the tent's fabric. The conversation amidst the king and his traveling companions meanders comfortably from the weather to the festivities in Palas, and settles on the state of the royal families.

These people do not know about Tristan and Arik's origin in Ispano, and so they comment on the affairs of the mysterious southern nation. Hitomi glances uneasily around, avoiding eye contact. She had had a vision during the day's ride, and the memory of it haunts her as the meal and conversation progress.

Van, noticing her absentness from the conversation, moves around the fire to sit next to her. "Hitomi?" he whispers in her ear, all the while nodding to one of the younger noble's speech about the superiorities of Basram's eldest princess to its youngest.

Startled, she looks up at him, having been so lost in thought that she didn't even notice his approach. "Is something bothering you?" he asks, leaning closer and setting his arm on the far side of her. She shakes her head and leans against him slightly, letting the warmth of his body counteract the chill sent down her spine by her dream.

With a somewhat satisfied smile the King of Fanelia lets the arm bracing him behind her move to encircle her waist as she relaxes against him. He nods to some other comment on the state of princesses on Gaea and ignores the sinking feeling of memory in his gut. _I am supposed to be finding a bride,_ he thinks to himself, arm tightening involuntarily around Hitomi, _and I haven't thought about that at all since she's been here._

Hitomi sighs and leans against him, mind relaxing, _What I wouldn't give to make this last forever…_ She stops that train of thought and asks herself about her other friends, _I wonder what has happened with Allen, Millerna, Dryden and Chid?_

Slowly the party breaks up for the evening, leaving Van and Hitomi the last two seated by the fire as the sentinel changes.

"We should get some rest," Van says, unwilling to leave but forcing himself to see the facts of the situation. "We don't want to be so tired that we're falling out of our saddles tomorrow."

She nods and looks up at him, "When do we meet up with the _Crusade_?" she asks as she stares into his eyes.

"Tomorrow evening, I suppose, Allen was given leave to come that far into Fanelia in order to escort us to Palas…" he looks away, red eyes drawn to the dying embers of the fire, "I suppose you're looking forward to seeing him again, aren't you?"

Hitomi frowns. "Van."

"You haven't seen him in longer than you've seen me, it's only natural that…"

She repeats his name, a little more forcefully, but he still does not look at her. Van falls silent and Hitomi, frustrated, kisses his cheek to get his attention. He looks at her, one hand going to her cheek as though she just slapped him instead of having just kissed him. "Van Slanzar de Fanel, would you listen to me for a minute?" Hitomi says, putting her right arm up and around his neck.

He nods dumbly.

"I don't know when it happened, but somewhere along the line I fell…" she hesitates and then blushes as she says, "I fell in love with you."

***

In the light of the double moon over the castle in Fanelia, Tristan sits and gazes out his window, remembering evenings in a much different manner in Ispano. There was always something for him to do there, always someone to talk to.

Certainly the people of Fanelia were nice enough to him, the King and the Lady Hitomi, the king's advisors were always polite, but there was just something missing. Arik, being wounded, was probably not experiencing the same nostalgia.

He frowns.

_ If she keeps trying to push herself she's going to get worse instead of better,_ he thinks as he glances across the room at her bed. _It won't do either of us any good if she ends up seriously wounded or…_ he finds he cannot finish that thought.

But the castle is strangely, to him at least, devoid of commoners. None of the servants are anything other than just that, born and bred from servant parents and grandparents and ancestors countless. Sure some of them were from other countries, but as Van himself had pointed out, Ispano lie on the other side of the planet, so none of the servants were from Tristan's own homeland.

Not that the High Priest wanted to be worshipped as the representation of the Gods on Gaea, but just that he felt a little homesick for his own country, for his own place and his people.

He didn't mind that by the time he would return the place would be in shambles, ruins of its former normalcy and splendor. It was still his land, and the people, even though they had rebelled to overthrow him, were still his people.

Across the room, Arik stirs, opening her gray eyes to glance over at the young High Priest. "Tristan… are you thinking about your home again?"

_ Always,_ he thought, _always this separation of what is mine and what is yours, Arik, why?_

***

Not the least bit tired, even after spending most of the night awake and in front of the dying fire, Hitomi sits tall in her saddle, glancing around as her horse, Crisslis again, follows Van's mount up the rise. Around the two of them the other horses, bearing nobles as well as the king's guard, ascend as well, a bit slowly because of the previous evening's rains. Hitomi glances up at where Van is seated and catches his glance back at her.

She smiles and he blushes a little as he turns back to look ahead of them for any signs of danger. _Not that there should be any within my own borders,_ he reasons with himself, _but if anything happens to her, I…_

He glances back to see her petting Crisslis' neck and urging the mare upwards.

_ I'd be lost._

***

Allen feels the gentle rock of the ship as the _Crusade_ touches down in the appointed clearing. He goes down the gangplank and looks around, wondering if, in the haste to go and retrieve his friends, he had somehow come to the wrong spot. The messenger had said to expect them on this day, and so he had done everything in his power to get to the meeting place on time.

Van might still be younger than him, but he was a king, and one did not step on the toes of the King of Fanelia, for any reason, if it could be helped. Though Allen doubted his own mistake would cause any international incident, he did not want to loose face in front of Van… or Hitomi.

Glancing over his shoulder up at the viewing deck he waves to Celena, whose figure he can make out. She had chosen to accompany him on this journey rather than be left at court with Millerna and Dryden and the other nobles, preferring, still, to remain with her brother and socialize with them little.

He sighs, remembering how he had been forced to convince Millerna that Celena had no problem with the Queen of Asturia or her guests, but that he _had_ been gone for a while picking up the other monarchs and so it was only natural that she want to spend some time with him. Millerna had been about to deny the request when Dryden had spoken up and asked her to let Celena go.

The Queen had acquiesced and Allen breathes another sigh of relief at his good fortune. _Not that I don't enjoy spending time with Celena, but she can't stick by me all the time._

Turning to regard the landscape of Fanelia once more, Allen is pleased to see a group of horses approaching over the rise. He moves forward a little, trying to make out the standards the King's men would bear, but he finds none, and his heartbeat speeds up.

_ That's **not** Van._

***

The noise of a battle reaches Van's ears as the horses reach the top of the rise and he frowns. He calls to the advance men to scout farther and almost immediately they return with the news of a battle taking place before the _Crusade_.

Angry, he orders several of the guard to remain with Hitomi and the youngest nobles and spurs his horse forward, drawing his sword.

Hitomi glares at the guards and frowns as she recalls her vision. "Van!" she calls out to him, but he is far out of earshot. Angry at being left behind she urges Crisslis to follow Van's mount, which she does easily, kicking up into a canter and carrying her after him.

***

Allen curses, cutting the reigns so that the horse rears from the sword point and tosses its rider to the ground. Around him his men employ similar tactics as they dispatch the marauding group. As though told by some sixth sense that this isn't the end of the attack, Allen holds his opponent at sword point.

The noise of other hooves beating the somewhat frozen Fanelian earth alerts him to the approach of more men on horseback. He glances over his shoulder to see that these riders _do_ bear the Fanelian crest and carry standards, and he recognizes a familiar mop of black hair at the head of the riders.

Allen sighs, somewhat relieved, and his men begin to tie up the marauders as the king approaches and dismounts. "Allen?" Van calls out.

Another group of horses approaches behind Van's initial guard, a single horse being followed by a larger group, and Hitomi rides right up next to where Van has dismounted, glaring at him.

Allen suppresses his chuckle as Van glares at her in return slightly.

"Why did you just leave me back there!" Hitomi demands, throwing one leg over the saddle and preparing to dismount. Van moves forward and lifts her by the waist, setting her carefully on her feet before responding with, "You were supposed to wait back on the other side of the last rise, there was a battle, you could've been hurt!"

Allen makes his way over as the two banter back and forth. "Knight Caeli Allen Schezar gives his duty to King Van Slanzar de Fanel and Lady Hitomi," he says, kneeling for a moment before standing to address the bickering pair.

"Van?" he asks in an even tone.

Hitomi bites her lower lip, crossing her arms and turning her back on Van, facing her horse and the other young nobles. Van, bewildered by this little burst of the "old" Hitomi attitude, turns and greets Allen.

"What happened, Allen?" he asks evenly, glancing at Hitomi repeatedly, trying to gauge her anger at him.

"We just touched down and were waiting when these," here Allen gestures to the roped men, "young men, came upon us with their swords drawn."

Van seems to debate that for a moment. "I'd rather deal with them myself, but I'm not willing to miss the celebration," he says, turning slightly and laying a hand on Hitomi's shoulder. "Hitomi, aren't you even going to say hello to Allen?"

After some contemplation, she had decided that Van's actions _were_ only to try and protect her from the battle, which she had been ill prepared to enter, and so when he puts his hand on her shoulder she smiles and turns towards him, nodding with a smile and a wink to him.

"Hitomi?" Allen says, puzzled. "You've certainly grown," he says offering her an embrace. Hitomi hugs Allen and then pulls back, smiling.

"It doesn't seem like you've gotten any shorter, or smaller either," she winks at him. "And your sister?"

"Celena came along and is waiting inside, I'm sure she'll be happy to meet the two of you," Allen says. "Van, what should we do with them?" he motions to the marauders.

Van contemplates a moment, "We'll send them back to the Castle and have the advisors deal with them," he says easily.

"Then let's get everyone loaded on board and we'll be off as soon as preparations are complete," Allen says, offering an arm to Hitomi. Van purses his lips as he does so, but Hitomi just shakes her head and moves to take the reigns of Crisslis from one of his men. As she heads off to help the horse into the hold, Allen glances at Van and smiles.

"So, you've told her that you love her, have you?" Allen asks.

Van sputters a moment and blinks in confusion.

"Don't worry, she's obviously chosen you too," Allen says, "but you're going to have to watch out at the anniversary celebration, you know how some of the princesses get," he turns and goes to speak to the Captain of the King's Guard at that point, leaving Van with his thoughts and his horse to load up.

The King of Fanelia shakes his head and glances up at the _Crusade_. In the window of the viewing deck he sees the silhouette of Celena Schezar and a chill runs down his spine. _She is not Dilandu,_ Van reminds himself, starting up the gangplank with his mount. At the top, just off to the side, Hitomi stands watching him, as though waiting for him to get to the top.

With a small smile he picks up his pace, glad, at least, for that bit of pleasantness to the day. _Hitomi… _


	13. Twelve Passing Time

**Amoro Revidi**

Title: Passing Time [Part Twelve]  
Series: Vision of Escaflowne  
Rating: PG-13  
_A/N: Part __12... shorter and yet... well, you'll see._

***

The flight overland to the seaside Palas was an easy one on the passengers' bodies and their eyes. Hitomi took the time to stare out at Van's country as it passed by them, but eventually they rose into the clouds too high for her to see it properly, so she got up and headed to the viewing deck.

Allen leans against the wall with a young woman seated next to him, smiling contentedly as Hitomi enters, and Allen smiles at her and waves her over.

"Hitomi Kanzaki, I'd like you to meet my sister, Celena Schezar," he says formally, extending the girls' hands towards one another as he says their names in turn. Hitomi smiles and shakes Celena's hand, but the platinum haired young woman seems reticent to touch her.

"Come now Celena, Hitomi won't hurt you," Allen says tightly, somewhat aggravated by her reluctance at meeting new people.

"It's all right, Allen," Hitomi says smiling and going over to stand at the prow of the ship. Leaning forward against the railing she doesn't notice as Van comes in, nodding his greetings to Allen and kneeling to kiss Celena's hand before turning and heading towards Hitomi.

Placing his hands slightly behind hers on the rail, he leans up and whispers a quiet, "Hello," into her ear.

She jumps and turns, back pressed against the veins of the glass as he smiles and moves back. "You seem pretty out of it, Hitomi, are you all right?" Van asks, leaning forward to whisper it into her ear.

Pushing against his chest with her palms she stares at his neck and then as the ship lurches a bit she leans up against him. Behind them, Allen smiles knowingly as Van's arms wrap around her protectively. He feels Celena grab onto his arm as the deck lurches again.

"We're experiencing some turbulence, Captain," Gaddes informs Allen.

"Any way to avoid it?" he asks his first mate.

"Only to try and go above it… or touch down and wait it out, sir," he replies, glancing at the two in the prow of the boat as though only then connecting the two with the way they had looked during the Great War. "It sure took them long enough," Gaddes mutters before catching himself and asking, "Orders, Captain?"

"Try going above it. Celena, would you like to return to your quarters to wait it out?" She nods and clutches his arm tightly. "Hey, you two," Allen calls to Van and Hitomi.

Breathless and blushing, Hitomi presses her face against Van's chest, into the folds of his shirt. Van glances back at Allen over her head, "What?"

"We're going to be climbing and I'm certain it'd be safer below decks in the quarters, are you coming?" _He looks much more content to stay there holding her, it seems to me,_ Allen thinks to himself.

Van glances down at Hitomi and she nods, pushing him away gently and moving to follow Allen as he waits by the door with Celena. Van sighs and follows her, but as the next lurch of the ship from turbulence he finds himself running right up against to her and the two of them careening into the wall on the other side of the hallway, at the last minute Van bringing his arms up to brace his body from slamming Hitomi any harder into the wall.

Wind knocked from her, Hitomi puts her hands on his arms as she glances over at Allen and Celena, in a similar position only with Allen's back pressed against the wall and Celena against his chest.

"Let me help you?" Van asks, staring intently into her eyes, "I'd really rather not have the two of us break each other's bones and I think there's less of a chance of that if we help each other."

_ Chivalry be damned, that hurt._ "Sure," Hitomi replies.

***

Sitting with the other young women of note, Kira feels slightly bored at her prospects. She can recall her father's words to her before they set out, _Kira, for once in your life try to **attract** a man, not repulse him. The King of Fanelia will be there, try to make a good impression._

She sighs, glancing out the window over the port city. _And I suppose it doesn't matter what I think or feel about this King you've set your sights on for me, does it, Father? What I wouldn't give to be less than the King of Basram's daughter._

"Princess?" a polite voice asks.

"Duke Chid?" she asks, somewhat bewildered. "I'm sorry I wasn't paying attention, Your Majesty, I…"

Chid smiles and chuckles. "I was sent by my aunt, Queen Millerna, to tell you that your father requires your presence in his drawing room," he says, bowing his head and motioning her towards the door.

Around her the other noble women glance her way as she stands easily, accompanying the eleven year old Duke of Freid out of the large drawing room. The Queen herself had taken her leave much earlier, having to check on the preparations for the evening meal and the arrival of the Fanelian King.

Kira watches her feet as the two of them pass through the corridors to her father's study and Chid coughs to get her attention. She turns to regard the unusually tall eleven year old and he smiles. "There's nothing to be worried about, Aunt Millerna didn't seem displeased that he wanted to talk to you."

Kira smiles somewhat patronizingly at the young Duke, "I am afraid it is never anything _not_ to worry about where my father is concerned, Duke Chid."

Chid pauses for a moment, looking at the raven haired princess calculatingly before shrugging and continuing forward.

***

It hadn't taken long for her to slip away from Tristan's watchful gaze and make her way down to the practice grounds. They were a bit open for her tastes, but as Merle had informed her, there really wasn't any other suitable space she could get to. With a frown Arik recalls the blunt nature of the cat woman prior to her departure that same morning. The King and Lady Hitomi had left the prior midday with a small entourage and the palace guard to escort them to their meeting with the _Crusade_.

_ And what I wouldn't give to have an airship to get me out of here as well. If only I could get Tristan somewhere he wouldn't be reminded of Ispano so much._

With a sigh she leans against one of the hall tables momentarily, catching her breath from the long walk and glancing back towards her room.

_ I **am** stronger than this, I am not going back until I've at least found my sword._

***

Tristan returns to the room with a small tray given to him by the kitchen staff, only to find the room empty without a trace of Arik. He frowns and sets the tray down on the table before turning and leaving the room to look for her.

***

At the armory there is the small problem of the guards posted outside.

"Miss Dulchap, what are you doing here?" the guard on duty asks her. She recognizes him as the one posted outside the room she had been placed in when she was first recovering and being attended by the castle staff.

"Lieutenant Traz," she greets him evenly.

"Ma'am," he salutes in response, glancing at her uneasily.

"I've come to retrieve my sword," Arik takes a step towards the door.

***

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that," Van says with a smirk.

"Hmm?" Hitomi asks, holding the playing card over the pile.

"No, it's against the rules."

_ How did I get roped into playing cards in the middle of the ship?_ Hitomi asks herself, replacing the card in her hand and turning to Allen to ask, "What _can_ I play then?"

Without much deliberation of her hand Allen selects a card and lays it down on top of the pile. Van blinks and looks at the cards, "Well you won that hand…" he says slowly. Across from Hitomi, Celena glances at her hand and then at the pile of cards.

"She did," the younger Schezar sibling says, voice conveying her lack of surprise at that statement.

Hitomi smiles and shrugs, indicating that most of the winning was done by Allen and not herself. Van smiles at her contentedly and she blushes, looking away from Celena's gaze as well as his.

***

Dusting off her hands and tucking her sword into her belt, Arik turns from the fallen Lieutenant and his subordinate. "I'm sorry I had to rough you up but you weren't given any orders I was aware of to keep my sword from me, I have a responsibility to protect someone, and frankly… I wasn't told I was disallowed from having my weapon, so really, I apologize for the show of violence, but it really was your fault."

Turning and heading towards the stairwell, Arik's gaze locks with Tristan's as he stands glaring at her. "How badly did you hurt them?" he snaps.

"I didn't hurt them, I just knocked the wind out of them, your _High Priest_hood," she bows mockingly at him. "They had my sword," she says simply, folding her arms across her chest.

"You're too in love with that damn thing," Tristan mutters, unable to maintain the steel cold gray gaze of his bodyguard.

Arik nods, satisfied, and moves towards the staircase, walking past him and saying, "Do you have something else for me to love?" with a slight challenge in her tone. "Because last I checked this sword is the one thing that's never disappointed either of us."

Tristan starts to speak, but she moves back up the stairs. He sighs and shakes his head. Peralis comes up to him, having watched the exchange between the Ispanian High Priest and his bodyguard, and says, "It is all right, Your Holiness," he says, "those guards were under no orders to keep Miss Dulchap from her sword, and she has every right to it, considering what new developments have come in the past few hours."

"New developments?" Tristan asks, hoping to keep the strain of the day from his voice as he asks the Chief Advisor about the news he appears to want to share.

"The _Crusade_ was attacked at the rendezvous point where His Majesty and the Lady Hitomi were to meet up with the Knight Caeli, Sir Allen Schezar."

"My lord Peralis," Tristan says, uneasy, "are you sure you should be telling me these things? I am, after all, not to be fully trusted due to the nature of… my arrival here."

"Ah, do not worry about it, Your Holiness, I tell you only what I am sure you would eventually find out, as His Majesty's guest, and a friend of Fanelia. I actually wanted to ask you a favor, if it would not be too much trouble."

"Ask away," Tristan responds, following the Chief Advisor into the sunlit courtyard. "I am at your disposal."

"I would like to ask your help in interrogating the prisoners taken at that battle, if I may."

***

Jasper had been stationary all day.

It was either go along to the Lords' Meeting or sit through tea with the assembled ladies of court. He almost, as he sits listening to Dryden being questioned on the restoration of the outer provinces, wishes that he had taken up Queen Millerna's offer to join the young women, as so many of his compatriots had. Something about being younger and of lesser status than the kings meeting with Dryden made the entire situation utterly boring to him.

Not that he enjoyed tea and casual flirtation much better.

As he contemplates the current map under discussion the doors open and the young Duke of Freid enters, escorted by one of said assembled ladies. He glances her over and tries to put a name with the face framed by raven hair.

_ That should be… hmm…_ for a moment the name eludes him until she bows deeply to the group and then something in the back of his mind triggers the memory. _Princess Kira, the middle Basram daughter. She'll likely be looking for a husband at this gathering, I wonder if her father has told her to go after Fanelia's king or if he's looking for something a little less ambitious._

"Ah, Kira, there you are," Xachary, the King of Basram says, graciously extending his arms to embrace his daughter.

_ I think her older sister is already married to… oh it must be Greeg from Egzardia._ The older king embraces his daughter, who then curtsies to him. _Even he didn't come to this meeting, and he's up to receive his throne in a few months._

"You called for me, Father?" she asks in a pleasant voice.

Dryden glances up from the maps they were all contemplating and a slight frown stretches across his handsome features. "Xachary, did you mean to interrupt the discussion so thoroughly?" he asks in a somewhat vexed tone.

Chid walks to his uncle's side and coughs politely, when the King of Asturia leans down he whispers, "Be kind, uncle, she's already nervous about being called into the room."

"Pardon the two of us a moment, King Dryden, I've got a few things I need to discuss with my daughter," he draws her to the side of the room.

Jasper's brown eyes follow the two of them as they move across the room and he notices that he is not the only person whose head is turned by the daughter of Basram. He smiles to himself. _At least she is not as unknown as some here, now… despite vexing King Dryden a bit._

Chid, after bowing to the others, leaves the room and Kira with her father, Dryden having asked him to check with Millerna about the evening's preparations. Jasper frowns, looking around for anyone else to escort Kira back to the drawing room.

All the other princes had opted to go there instead of coming to the strategy consultation, leaving only himself and Chid even in semi-attendance.

"I understand, Father," Kira says, curtsying again to her father.

"Then you may go, Kira," Xachary says evenly, dismissing her with a gesture.

She looks around for Chid and, finding him absent, she fidgets a little unsurely. Jasper glances at the other monarchs and finds that none of them are prepared to help her out of the predicament that she is in. No young noble woman would traverse the castle by herself during festivities, under normal circumstances, and yet none of the monarchs appear to want to leave the meeting.

"If I might be so presumptuous," Jasper speaks up, deciding to come to the rescue, "I hate to admit my lack of interest in the subject matter, but I would be honored to escort Princess Kira back to the drawing room."

She glances at him evenly and Dryden waves the two of them off. Jasper crosses to her side and bows formally at the waist, then offering her his arm, which she takes, still somewhat unsure about that amount of kindness from one of her father's apparent consorts.

As the door shuts behind him, Dryden stares at the place where the two of them just were and arcs a single brow. _A most unusual character, Prince Jasper…_

In the hall, Jasper sighs and begins to walk forward.

"You didn't have to do that, you know," Kira says in the same pleasant and melodious voice.

"It is the duty of every prince to see that princesses meet no harm, and meet no distress. Obviously none of the monarchs themselves were going to come to your aide, so someone had to."

"But you didn't _have_ to," she responds, a smile beginning to form on her lips.

"I could do no less than Duke Chid would have, were he still in the room," Jasper replies. "I don't believe we've been formally introduced, Princess, I am Prince…"

"Jasper Orthius, of Cesario," she smiles and bows her head, "I know who you are."

"Ah, then it was only I who had not met you before. Or have I?" he asks with a wink as they move on down the corridor.


	14. Thirteen Formalities

**Amoro Revidi**

Title: Formalities [Part Thirteen]  
Series: Vision of Escaflowne  
Rating: PG-13  
_A/N: Part __13... wrote this one rather quickly, I might add._

***

The evening brings out the best in him, she thinks with a smile as she glances at the finery he was finishing attaching to himself. "You look very…"

"Stupid," he finishes for her, glancing himself up and down in the mirror.

"Oh Van, don't be so typical," Hitomi says with a roll of her eyes. "I think you look very regal in that outfit."

Van regards himself in the mirror again and feels a little queasy.

"Van?" she asks, playful tone dropping from her voice as she looks at his face.

_ The last time I looked so 'regal', as you put it, Hitomi… the occasion wasn't nearly as joyous as this one._ He glances over at her and forces a smile he doesn't really mean. "Well… I still think you look better."

Hitomi blushes slightly, looking away and adjusting the skirt of her gown nervously. Allen had ushered them both into their quarters to change, but once dressed Hitomi hadn't been able to hold in her curiosity as to the state of Van's dress and had come tiptoeing over to check on him.

He looked very handsome, in her opinion, the button up crimson jacket looking just enough the color of his eyes to enhance the effect of his bearing, and the pants a tad more formal than the ones he wears in Fanelia. The sword belt is black leather and the royal sword hangs at his side under a white cape clasped at the shoulders. The small crown on his head he had chosen to wear instead of the full Fanelian crown he would wear if they were holding the festivities in his own country, so as not to show off his kingly station or appear to be showing up his host and hostess.

In his eyes the outfit did make him look stupid, because it wasn't very functional. He wore the sword but the sleeves of the garment wouldn't permit him to use if very effectively in case of emergency and the stiff jacket wouldn't allow for running very well or dodging, though it held no armor value at all.

Hitomi feels much the same. It isn't that she dislikes wearing dresses, but the grandeur of her reception gown makes her feel overdressed.

"Remind me why I had to wear this again?" they ask at the same time, and then look up at one another and chuckle.

"Because…" Hitomi begin, voice somewhat stern as she recalls Merle's voice, "you will be going straight from the reception to the opening ball, and you are, after all, being escorted and escorting a king."

"Besides," Van mocks Peralis' voice, "it would be rude of the King of Fanelia to show up in anything less formal than the situation requires. Both you and the Lady Hitomi will be greeting the royalty of the entire planet, anything less than your best would be an insult to them."

"Next time I come," Hitomi says, looking at her gloved hands and adjusting the fingers slightly, "Remind me to come when there isn't any big gathering we'll be attending."

"Would you rather go back to Fanelia?" Van asks seriously.

She glances up and looks him in the eye, "I would like to see Pr- Queen Millerna again, and Dryden, and Chid…"

Van looks away, nodding. Hitomi sighs exasperatedly. "Van, you know what I mean… I just don't like getting dressed up…"

"And being paraded around in front of strangers?" he asks in response, bringing his eyes back up to meet hers. "It's what happens when you're royalty."

She nods, glancing off to the side.

"I'm surprised you're not more used to it," he says in a quiet voice. "You're worthier of the titles than most everyone we'll meet tonight, and certainly more beautiful than all the scrounging princesses."

Hitomi, blushing, looks back at Van with startled green eyes. He reaches forward and brushes one gloved hand down her cheek, lifting her face by the chin and peering into her eyes before smiling and tweaking her nose.

A knock comes to the door and the floor shakes a little as the _Crusade_ touches down at the docking grounds slightly above the port capital of Palas. "Enter," Van calls, dropping his hands to his sides.

Allen enters and says, "Have you seen…"

"Hello Allen," Hitomi replies with a smile.

"Ah, so the two of you are ready then," he bows and extends his arm in the direction of the door. "Your things will be brought to the castle separately, Queen Millerna would like the two of you to progress somewhat quickly, if you are so inclined, because she will not begin the festivities without you."

Hitomi smiles and Van offers her his arm with a slight bow. "Shall we, Lady Hitomi?" he asks, winking at her.

She rolls her eyes and threads her hand into his arm, picking up the end of her skirts with her other hand to keep them from getting dirty inside the ship.

***

Chid stands near Millerna and Dryden as the assemblage around them forms up to greet the new arrivals from Fanelia. Chid smiles anxiously as he watches the gondola approach through the canals.

Flanked by several others in a Chid smiles broadly and waits as Millerna and Dryden move forward to greet their newest guests and lead them up the small stairwell to the wide balcony where the rest of them wait.

Chid watches Hitomi with interest, trying to ascertain the moment that she recognizes him, if at all, and is pleased to see her smile brighten as she nears him, one hand resting on Van's arm as the two enter the assembly at a stately walk.

There is a long pause as the two are introduced to the forty odd royals and heirs present and then the entire group progresses up towards dinner.

"Duke Chid," Hitomi says as she and Van fall into step near him, "it's wonderful to see you again," she smiles.

"I'm glad to see you too, Hitomi," he replies, smiling.

"You've grown quite a bit since I last saw you, how are things in Freid?" she asks, Van smiles and nods to the young Duke who gives him an awed look before quickly regaining himself and answering Hitomi's question.

***

Millerna sits down at the center of the main table and Dryden sits next to her. The two of them smile and the other royalty take their seats as well. To Millerna's right sits Chid, Van, Xachary of Basram, and the Ezgardian Queen Aiter, and to her immediate left is Dryden. On the other side of him the monarchs of Daedalus and Cesario are seated.

"We would like to thank all of you for coming," Millerna says as Dryden draws her up to her feet by taking her hand and urging her up with him. "It gives us, and Asturia, great honor to know that all of you have come to celebrate this most special occasion with us."

Dryden, smiling at his wife, reaches up to touch her cheek, "Although it gives me significant pleasure just to be your husband," he adds in a lower voice, "my goddess."

Millerna blushes and looks down and a muted noise of appreciation goes through those gathered. "All the same this celebration is not just for the two of us," Dryden continues, "but for you all. Our brother and sister monarchs and their children as well, we lift our glasses to you and to continued peace and prosperity throughout Gaea."

Glasses around the room lift and are chinked together with other glasses before drinks are taken from them. Van glances down from the main table at Hitomi and catches her eye, smiling and including her in the general atmosphere of the room as the servants carry in trays of food.

Sitting down with the other unmarried young women, Hitomi doesn't feel nearly as overdressed as before, but still out of place. _I wish I could sit near Van,_ she thinks as she looks around the table and meets the steady gazes of the princesses, who, unlike herself, appear to have no doubt as to their intentions or placement.

One in particular catches her eye as she converses quietly with one of the princes at the table. Hitomi's eyes are drawn to the young woman's face, which is framed by dark hair, and her quick violet eyes catch Hitomi's gaze and she smiles.

"Lady Hitomi," a kind, melodic voice says. "I'm not sure if you'd remember my name, we were introduced so quickly before, I'm Princess Kira of Basram."

Hitomi smiles a little brighter, "Of course I remember you, Princess," she bows her head slightly, "It's been an honor to meet you."

The Basram Princess chuckles and turns to the young man. "I told you she was pleasant and nice to know, didn't I, Prince Jasper?"

"Quite truly you did, Princess."

Kira sighs and shakes her head, turning to say to Hitomi, "Please, one of you call me Kira, it's driving me insane that no one will use my name in this assembly. I feel like father did not give me my own name, what with being called 'Princess' so much."

Hitomi smiles. "If you will drop the 'Lady' before my name?" she whispers conspiratorially. "Even the people in Fanelia insist on calling me that, and it's driving me mad."

Kira smiles and Hitomi returns the gesture by lifting her glass and offering a toast, "To dropping formalities?" she asks.

Jasper nods once and lifts his as well, Kira following suit. The other princesses at the table stare, shocked at the three of them, but Kira disregards them and strikes up a conversation with Hitomi that helps her to forget about being the odd one out of the group during dinner.

***

Grunting slightly, Merle swings the sword and is deflected again. Sotet growls and shoves her past him, sending her head over heels towards some rocks. Agilely, the cat woman curls her body and stops on her knees, lifting the sword to block her opponent's next swing, which was aimed at her neck.

"Enough for today," a deep and yet feminine voice calls out, freezing the two of them in place. "Sotet, there's the Freid girl that needs your expertise, if you don't mind."

The tall, darkly tanned man nods, pointed ears flicking once as he offers a hand to the cat woman. Merle takes it and gets to her feet easily, watching as her former mentor heads off into other parts of the building.

"Your skill with the sword seems to be improving, Merle," the same deep voice says from the doorway.

"Thank you, Mistress," Merle says, sweeping a bow towards the bare vision of a female body silhouetted in the late evening sunlight.

"I think perhaps it is time you step your training up to work in melee combat with it, do you not?"

"If that is your will, Mistress," Merle says, head remaining bowed.

"Stand up straight, Merle, we aren't, after all, that distantly connected, after so much time, are we?"

"Mistress Tovenaar…"

"I have a first name, Merle. Do well to learn and use it," the voice snaps, becoming stern and brittle. Merle nods, bowing her head again. "Follow me now, I have other chores for your training."

Merle follows the shadowy silhouette down the hallway, setting the sword down in its position by the door. "I hear your King has taken in the Ispano Priest?"

"Yes, Mi-Mot."

"Was he with or without his Kathis?"

"With," Merle replies tightly.

"What do you think of Dulchap, Merle?"

"She is very damaged."

"She would be, if they escaped and retained their lives. I take it they did, since you seem so reluctant to speak about it." Merle does not respond, choosing, instead, to adjust her battle skirt as the two of them head deeper into the mountain. "What do you mean by damaged?"

"Her back has many scars, as does her body… and she appears reclusive."

"Do you think she will need to be replaced?"

"Is there any way to, after so much time?"

Mot does not respond immediately. "There is always a way. There are no other currently available Kathis of proper training, however. Do you still feel as though you are not worthy of your King?"

Merle's ears prick forward and she stops in mid stride. "I am not, but I do not believe he will accept another. I do not believe that he knew what I was when I was sent to him, and I do not think he will take kindly to me being reassigned after so much time."

"So it was more of a successful combination between the two of you than you hinted at before?" The deeper voice asks.

"Lord Van… is my best friend."

"And…?"

"And I would do anything to be assured of his safety, Mistress," Merle says, blue eyes flashing in the somewhat dark hallway as she glares at the silhouetted figure in front of her. "There is nothing more to be said. I failed him once, and I will **never** do it again."

"Then you are worthier of your assignment that he, perhaps, deserves." Mot moves forward again, pausing once for her to catch up. When Merle doesn't, Mot starts forward again, saying only, "Don't."

With an inner growl, Merle moves forward at a slight jog, trying to keep up with the silhouetted figure of the High Bikathian.

***

His crystal blue eyes narrowed to slits, Tristan stands before the line of prisoners and looks from one to the other in turn. To his right and slightly behind him, Arik watches the procedure somewhat disinterestedly, but with one hand on her sword regardless. "This one," Tristan says, pausing before one of the drawn up mercenary prisoners before continuing to pace before the other eleven.

Arik sizes up the mercenary, gray eyes glaring.

"And this one," Tristan says, pausing before one on the other end of the line. The guards come forward and take the chains attached around the two prisoners' necks and lead them to the interrogation room.

Peralis nods to the two constables in charge of the prisoners, and the Minister of Defense, then he and the Minister follow Tristan and Arik into the interrogation chamber.

_ I don't see why they have to come,_ Arik thinks to herself, eyes glancing around alertly. _Tristan knows what he's doing and would never lie to these people._

Once inside she begins to understand why, however, as she surveys the contents of the room. Her breath catches slightly, _A torture chamber…_

***

Standing on the balcony, Hitomi glances over her shoulder at the dancers within. She sighs and looks up at the night sky, wondering what Van is up to while she stands outside, alone. _Maybe I shouldn't have come,_ she reasons. _Even if… Van loves me,_ she cannot help but smile at that thought, _he's still got a responsibility to Fanelia, to get married and provide an heir to the throne. Surely he's come to find someone to do that with here, and not me._

Wiping her eyes with her gloved hands quietly, she whispers aloud harshly, "Who'd want to be stuck here forever, anyway?"

Approaching quietly, Van says, "You aren't be stuck here, you know."

She looks up at him and then turns away quickly. "How… how long have you been standing there?" she asks.

"Long enough to know that the most beautiful woman here is without a dance partner and feeling left out," Van says, not tripping over his words at all, for once. "Hitomi… I know what it must seem like," he comes to stand next to her, leaning somewhat awkwardly in his jacket against the railing, "but it isn't like that at all."

"Isn't like what?" she asks stubbornly.

Van glances over at her before waving a hand vaguely at the dance inside. "Just because… I love you, it doesn't mean that you'd be trapped here."

Surprised green eyes turn to regard him, catching his profile in the moonlight as he continues. "You… said you loved me, Hitomi, and… I meant it when I said that I love you in return, but I don't want to force you into anything you aren't ready for."

She takes a step back and regards him querulously.

"It's true, though, I am supposed to keep an eye out for a wife," he says, coming to the conclusion of his statement, and of his thoughts. "I… I'll never be able to find one that would be better than you," he says in a low voice, "but the choice isn't completely mine to make."

There is a long moment of silence between them and Hitomi puts her hands up to cover her face. "Van…"

He turns towards her, suddenly, blinking rapidly and smiling. "May I have the pleasure of this dance, Hitomi?"

"Yes," she replies, taking his hand without the least bit of hesitation and allowing him to lead her back inside to the pairs lining up to dance.

The other monarchs notice the two of them enter and begin to dance with one another, smiling fondly and acting as good friends would. Xachary's eyes dance a little in anger and he casts his eyes about for Kira, to see what she is up to.

He is surprised to find, however, that his daughter is not seated on the wall by herself or conversing with the other ladies, but dancing, and quite well, with one of the young princes. He notices, offhandedly, that it is the same… Prince Jasper, that escorted her from the Lords' Meeting earlier that same day.

_ Well, well, Kira, it appears you listen to your father after all. I may not yet be forced to cast you off to your cousins in the mountains. There is hope…_

***

Near the thrones, Dryden and Millerna circle one another politely, bowing and curtsying and twirling and spinning as the dance dictates. Millerna smiling a secretive smile at her husband as the evening progresses. Dryden grows somewhat uneasy as he sees that certain smile spread across his wife's lips and he glances over at Chid, who shrugs and continues to entertain his nephew.

"Dryden," Millerna says, batting her lashes, "you _can_ hold me closer, we are married," her tone is innocent.

"Like a precious glass statue, it would be a shame to damage you, goddess," he responds in her ear before drawing back to arms' length as the steps dictate. He glances around as the steps continue, smiling and nodding to those that pass, attention forced back to the matter at hand as the steps bring Millerna close to him again.

She pulls him a little closer to her as he steps around her feet and leans her head around to follow his movements with her eyes, a smile on her lips. "Dryden, do you have the time?"

He glances at the clock just over her head and she plants a small kiss on his neck, looking up at him innocently as he starts. "Just after ten," he says skeptically. "Goddess, what's going on?"

"It's all right, my love," she says in a soothing voice, "you don't need to be afraid of me," her words are soft and only for his ears.

"What are you talking about?" he asks in a nervous voice. "I'm not afraid of you, Millerna." He looks down at her with a faux puzzled look on his face.

She smiles tolerantly and cups his cheek as the other assembled dancers clap for the musicians. "Dryden," she smiles and leans up to kiss his cheek tenderly before patting it and waiting for him to offer his arm to guide her back to the thrones.


	15. Fourteen Waltzing the Minuet

**Amoro Revidi**

Title: Waltzing the Minuet [Part Fourteen]  
Series: Vision of Escaflowne  
Rating: PG-13  
_A/N: Part 14. I find this story is beginning to get out of hand. For every chapter I write I come up with three more that I have to add to explain parts of it. I'm glad this story is going to be sectioned. So far we're not even to the part in section 1 that I'm wanting to be at before I can start writing about section 2, but then that's pretty acceptable since the goal of the first section hasn't been accomplished yet. I suppose it sounds like I'm talking in riddles, but really in my notes on paper it all makes sense. _

***

"The pair of them on the dance floor look quite handsome," Kira remarks, looking at the king of Fanelia and Hitomi as they move with unseemly grace.

"Didn't you say your father wanted you to try and get him to fall for you, Princess?"

"You really should stop calling me that, Prince Jasper."

"Not until you decide to stop calling me 'Prince Jasper', and start calling me Jasper," he replies, turning her quickly and twirling her out to arms' length and then pulling her close with an interlocking arm pattern as the steps of what would be, on Earth, a variant of the minuet, dictates.

"It would be unbecoming of me to call you outside of your title, Prince Jasper."

"As unbecoming as it would be of me to call you outside of yours, Princess." She sighs and rolls her eyes. "And why, by the way, do you dislike being called Princess so much, Princess Kira?"

"Prince Jasper," a quiet voice from the edge of the crowd says.

The tall prince stops in mid motion, turning to glance at the speaker. A dark brown eyed young woman dressed in dark violet robes with a sword at her side stands and bows her head. "Forgive me, Princess Kira, I…" Jasper bows to her and excuses himself from the dance floor.

Kira blinks and her brow furrows, she starts to follow him, but is cut off by the other clapping royals as the music of the dance ends.

"I am sorry to disturb you, Jasper, but there is news from your mother."

"How was it delivered?" he asks, smiling as the two of them head over towards the refreshments.

"Special courier."

"Where is the message?" he asks.

***

"Oh look, Van," Hitomi says as the two of them head over towards the refreshment table.

"Hmm?" he asks, looking down at her.

"It's Prince Jasper, I met him during dinner," she says with a smile, "he was really nice to me… Have you met him?"

"Not particularly, why don't you introduce me?" he says.

Hitomi smiles and nods, leading Van forward by taking his hand. "Prince Jasper?" she turns to Van, "That must be Princess Kira he's talking to," she tries again, "Jasper?"

Turning and looking over his shoulder at the sound of his name, Jasper starts as he sees Hitomi and King Van. "Hello again, Lady Hitomi," he says with a smile, "you'll have to excuse me a moment, I've got some pressing matters to attend to."

"Too pressing to meet the King of Fanelia?" a quiet voice asks from Jasper's side.

Hitomi starts, _That **isn't** Kira…_

"Of course not," Jasper replies in a somewhat agitated tone, glancing down at the young woman standing at his side. "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Your Majesty," Jasper says, executing a formal bow.

"Likewise," Van says evenly, nodding to the prince. "Don't let us detain you from your business."

The young woman, head bowed, says something low enough so that only he hears it. Jasper nods absently and she steps back into the crowd. Hitomi tightens her hand on Van's arm in question and he glances at her momentarily as if to say, _Later._

"Then if Your Majesty, and the Lady Hitomi will excuse me, I must be on my way," Jasper bows formally to them both before turning to leave.

As he disappears from earshot, and Van heads over to the table to collect drinks for the two of them, Hitomi murmurs, "I wonder what that was all about… and what happened to Kira?"

***

Peralis looks out the window at a much similar scene.

The four brigadier generals stand at corners of a designated square fighting space with a single figure standing in the center of them.

The figure carries only a sword and a dagger strapped to its waist, two gauntlets on its wrists, and dark reddish brown hair tied back from her face.

Looking across the courtyard Peralis can see the tall figure of the Ispano High Priest dressed in white robes the seamstresses originally assigned to the Lady Hitomi's wardrobe had created for him. His arms folded across his chest he is frowning, it seems to Peralis, but he calls out, "Begin," in a commanding tone.

_ What in the name of Escaflowne is going on here?_ Peralis asks.

Under the bright light of the two moons the fighters circle their target, which is in the center. Tristan turns to the side, conversing with one of the soldiers gathered to watch the spar.

First the southern general leaps forward, striking downwards with his sword, but the strike is blocked without much more than a flick of Arik's wrist, and then a counter maneuver that knocks the southern general backwards.

Next the eastern general attacks, a thrust of his sword like a fencer, but again Arik blocks, rotating her own sword so that in order to keep his sword in hand the eastern general has to come close to her. Stepping back she draws her dagger and cuts a ribbon from his upper arm expertly.

Falling back he holds his sword with the other arm. Without pause the northern and western generals move forward.

The sound of swords clashing in the air is highlighted by the occasional sparks flying from the swords and dagger. The ribbons tied to the appendages of the samurai generals disappear one at a time until finally, breathing hard and standing a little crooked, Arik shoves her sword into the ground and pulls the band out of her hair, shaking it loose around her face.

Applause fills the courtyard and Arik grunts, running her hands over her face and tying it back again before wrenching her sword from the dirt and bowing to her defeated opponents in turn before heading towards the stairwell behind Tristan.

The High Priest catches Peralis' gaze across the courtyard before turning and making his way up the stairs after his bodyguard.

***

"That was an excessive display," Tristan says to Arik as the two of them climb to their quarters. "Besting the country's four top warriors?"

"It was practice, and I submitted a formal request for the training session to the council. Chief Advisor Peralis told me to ask the generals themselves, so I did. They agreed, and so we sparred," Arik leans against the wall outside the rooms and catches her breath a moment.

"You needn't have made such a spectacle of the spar, though," Tristan pulls the door open and waits for her to precede him inside.

"It was only a spectacle," she shoves herself off the wall and enters the room, laboring to keep her footsteps in line and straight as she moves over to her bed, "because you insisted on calling out the go. If you hadn't asked to be there, then none of the other soldiers would have felt the need to be there," placing one hand on the post at the end of her bed she begins to take off the sword belt.

He sits down on her bed, still facing the door, and says, "That's not true, they came because you were fighting the four highest soldiers in the country."

Tiredly she sits down at the foot of the bed and says, "Well I can't exactly go back to where I was originally trained and ask them to work with me any more right now, can I?" He glances over at her swiftly, trying to gauge her meaning.

"We're here in a foreign place without assurance of safety. I cannot, under these circumstances, leave your side."

"Arik, I…" He turns and then sighs.

"I know, Tristan. I'm not making any sense to you, am I?" her voice is soft, caring, and she leans her head back, pointing her chin at the ceiling and closing her eyes.

At a loss for anything else to do, he leans down and lays his head in her lap. "It will all be all right in the end, won't it, Arik?" he asks in a much meeker tone than his normal voice, curling his knees up to his chest as he thinks back on Ispano. "Things… things will be like they were again, won't they?"

Leaning back slightly, planting her hands on the bed and sighing, "I…"

***

"So your impression of Dulchap's competency in maintaining the High Priest is all within the report you've given to Sotet?" Mot asks, standing and staring out the window into the sunlight morning.

"It is as I have said numerous times, Misstress Mot."

Mot glances over her shoulder, long silver braid moving to the side as she does so, alert dark eyes taking in the expression on Merle's face.

"If you don't believe me…"

"I distrust your assessment because she did not bring the High Priest here upon her recovery," Mot says simply.

Merle stands and glares over at the High Bikathian, "Neither did I bring Lord Van here when Fanelia was razed, neither was Duke Chid brought here when Freid fell in the last war, what makes this any different?"

"It is different, Merle, this time there is no war going on that involves the Consortium. This time there is no reason to distrust the circumstances within the Halls. She has every chance and opportunity to bring him here, and she does not. Explain to me why she would not do what she was trained to, if you would be _so_ kind?"

"She's still injured and if she can't protect him properly then she won't take him anywhere, you of all people know that about her. You chose her for the assignment, just like you chose all of us for our assignments, you knew then that she would bond with him the way she did and you know that that's why she's not brought him here to you."

Mot turns back to face the window again, grunting out a guttural protest.

"Some of us never wanted to be breeding stock, you know," Merle adds in a quieter voice.

"That is not the issue at hand here," Mot says in a stern voice.

***

Smiling politely, Kira curtsies to the prince who escorted her to the chairs on the side of the room. She sighs, glancing around for anyone she has met and passed some little time with already, and, finding none, she moves quietly over to the windows, glancing out at the moonlit night.

"Princess, I can't imagine your father would be happy to find you standing here all alone," a voice close by her side says.

"I do not believe he would," she replies, not bothering to look up.

"Then might I have this dance?" the prince to her side asks.

"I really…"

_ Kira, for once in your life try to **attract** a man, not repulse him. I'd hate to think of what will happen if you do not find a husband soon._

"Would love to," she says with a forced smile.

_ You are a disgrace to your homeland, and your family._

***

Hitomi, having finally caught up with the Queen, stands chatting quietly with Millerna near the refreshments. She cannot help but keep one eye on Van as he dances with various princesses and duchesses and baronesses or daughters of royalty. As she scans the room there appear to be more people than she had been introduced to or even seen at dinner.

"Queen Millerna…" she begins, only to find herself cut off.

"Hitomi," Millerna's voice is quiet and lower than the prior parts of their conversation, "Please… don't call me that," the taller young woman smiles and takes one of Hitomi's gloved hands in her own, "we're friends, aren't we?"

"Yes, of course, Millerna," Hitomi replies with a smile.

"Oh, that's good to hear," Millerna says with a smile, sipping her punch, "it's so hard to _have_ friends when you're a queen… you never know if the people around you are only there because of your position."

Hitomi's stomach sinks as she hears those words.

"Hitomi? You were saying something that I interrupted, I'm sorry… What was it?" Millerna asks calmly.

"Nothing…" Hitomi says, one hand settling on her stomach as she takes another drink from her cup. Over his dance partner's shoulder, Van smiles at Hitomi and winks at her. "I… I think I need some air," she says, moving towards the doors of the balcony.

***

_ Where's she headed off to?_ Van asks himself as he continues to twirl the Countess of one of Cesario's smaller city-states to the medium tempo music. He watches with a furrowed brow as Hitomi heads out onto the balcony, waving Millerna to remain with her party.

The Queen of Asturia meets Van's gaze and she gives him a concerned look. The two of them had spoken some just before dinner about the reason for Hitomi's return to Gaea, and Millerna had come out and asked his intentions towards her friend.

Abashedly, Van had admitted that he loved Hitomi, and he found it had been easier than he had suspected to relate that information to Millerna, especially after Allen had so insightfully pointed out that it was written all over his face whenever the sandy blond young woman was near him.

"I really would appreciate a little more of your attention," his newest partner informs him in a rich voice.

Van looks up, blinking, into a pair of violet eyes, not having noticed when he had switched partners. "Pardon my inattention, Princess," he says, searching his mind for her name.

"It is quite all right, Your Majesty, I myself find my mind straying from the dancing, and yet I cannot avoid it any more than you can." She draws herself back from his arms and says, "I do not doubt that Hitomi's the cause of your preoccupation, Majesty," she says with a curtsy.

Confused, Van bows in return and offers the quick witted Princess his arm as the two of them leave the dance floor.

"I do not blame you, she is quite the young woman."

"Look, Princess…" Van's temper flares slightly as he begins his sentence.

"Kira of Basram," she says evenly, bowing her head.

"Look, Princess Kira, I apologize for not giving you my undivided attention, but you have no right to discuss…"

"Hitomi happens to be a friend of mine," Kira replies, tone a little stern, "but you are right, I should not be discussing your business with you, seeing as to how I am not a part of it. I merely thought you might appreciate knowing that there are some people," she pauses and glances around at the assembly, "that understand what it feels like to be forced towards a situation they are not comfortable with."

Van nods, making a displeased noise in the back of his throat.

"Other than Hitomi," Kira continues, "who must feel very awkward being presented with the environment she would have to face were she to marry you and become Queen of Fanelia."

Van starts to shout, but bites it off as Kira draws away from his arm, curtsying. "Please, Lord King, keep in mind what she must be going through," she says, turning and heading towards the refreshment stand.

Van stutters for a moment and glances around at the other dancers and royals standing to the sidelines. Angry, he turns and heads out onto the balcony to get some air for himself, and to check on Hitomi.


	16. Fifteen Attack and Aftermath

**Amoro Revidi**

Title: Attack and Aftermath [Part Fifteen]  
Series: Vision of Escaflowne  
Rating: PG-13  
_A/N: Part 15... and I begin to think I might need a break from this story... I really do think it's getting out of hand. This section is 8 pages long by my estimates, and I'm also working on other things. I should have another part up either by christmas eve, yes, I mean by tomorrow, and then, hopefully, another one on christmas day. That's my Christmas present to you all. I'm also going to have to work at editing a few of my non-Escaflowne stories for Christmas presents to various people. (Somehow it just doesn't seem right that the story I'm writing about Christmas in GW isn't done for Christmas, doncha think?) I'm thinking that Part 20 might be the pseudo-intermission... uh... see notes in next part because these are getting really long.  
**Thanks for all the reviews! Happy Holidays.**_

***

Glancing around as she reaches the punchbowl, Kira feels something in the air and a shudder travels down her spine. _Something isn't right…_ she thinks to herself, a sinking feeling in her stomach. _What is it though…?_

***

Looking up at the stars, Hitomi clasps her hands together over her heart and closes her eyes. _Mother…_ slowly a tear slides down her cheek.

Van, standing several feet away, watches her actions, unsure of what to do.

_ What do I do now, mother? Father, what happens now? I love Van, I… I think I always have, but I just don't think I can be a queen. I'm not worthy of being a queen, not to so many people._

Hitomi's thoughts are suddenly cut off by a vision.

*

Opening her dream form's eyes Hitomi glances around.

"My Liege, we need only your go ahead to begin the attack."

A tall, stately looking man with a harsh face and short, curly hair, turns and glances past the messenger that came to bring him this news. "I do not like using Gecko to implement our plans," he says, regarding the silhouette of a figure.

"Your country does not have a ready force to attack with, my men just so happen to be available," a snake-like voice from the shadows responds.

"And so we have made an agreement, that I know. That doesn't mean I have to like it."

A third voice speaks up, from somewhere behind Hitomi's dream form, but she cannot turn fast enough to see the speaker's face, and the small room fades away as he says, "When all is said and done your name will go down history, not that you employed Gecko, but that you were the one to reshape Gaea…"

***

"Where is the note?" Jasper asks in a serious voice, standing and staring out at the estranged couple on the balcony below his suite through the window.

"I have it right here…" her voice trails off and she shouts, "Down!"

Without further prompting, Jasper ducks as the whistling strike of a sword slashes through the air where he was just standing. Rolling out of the way of the following strike he looks up to see her fighting three geckos, sword and dagger drawn.

"Nil!" he calls out, drawing his own sword from it's position under the bed.

"Get out of here, Jasper!" she shouts in response, slitting the throat of one of the attackers and slicing the hand off of another.

Glancing around his mind works quickly, trying to find a way out.

***

A commotion from within draws Hitomi's attention from the backs of her eyelids and she turns to find Van standing just behind her. "Hitomi, are you all right?" he asks, voice serious as he draws her face up to look at him by placing his hands under her chin. "Something's wrong, isn't it?"

"Van… I…"

A noise from above, the sound of shattering glass, breaks up her sentence and Van draws his cape up to shield her from the shards of glass.

"What the-?" Van manages to get out before he sees a pair of figures jump from the second story window, one positioning itself to land slightly before the other.

"Nil," Jasper says urgently, trying his best to get away from the strong grip that his bodyguard has on his arms as the two of them roll on the marble.

"Prince Jasper?" Hitomi asks, querulous as she peeks over Van's arm, which he shakes once to free of the glass that had fallen from above. "What's going on?" he demands.

"Geckos," the young woman says, drawn sword held to fend off the figures that leap from the window after the two of them.

***

Within the ballroom the geckos make themselves apparent, coming out of the shadows on the ceiling as well as from all around the room, leaping from behind the elaborate decorations to assault the assembled nobility.

Millerna cries out as several advance upon her, and at the same moment the Knights of Asturia, lead by Allen, break into the room with the royal guard at their backs, and a battle commences.

"All of you ladies, to the balcony, at once," Dryden calls above the din and clamor, as he throws a right cross at one of the gecko advancing on Millerna.

Allen, seeing the state of his king and queen, rushes forward with Gaddes at his side, and dispatches the remainder of those after his monarchs. Around the room certain members of the assembly draw swords and daggers and aid in protecting the nobility as they make their escape to the balcony without.

"Who would have sent them, Dryden?" Millerna asks as he ushers her outside.

Dryden, face a blank mask, does not respond immediately, but glances around at the remnants of the party and shakes his head. "Where's Fanelia?"

***

At the other end of the balcony Van pushes Hitomi behind him as the geckos not fighting with Jasper and his companion advance on the two of them. "Stay back," he shouts to them.

"Why would we do a silly thing like that, King Van?" the head of the small group advancing upon them asks with a vicious smile.

"I won't let you take her," he snarls in response.

There is a moment of silence between the two sides and Van glances over their shoulder to see how the other pair is fairing against their opponents before he moves forward to attack.

"Van, no!" Hitomi calls out, taking a step forward.

Glancing over his shoulder as he parries the stabbing motions of the geckos, Van throws Hitomi a reassuring smile and says, "Please, stay back, I won't let anything happen to you."

Hitomi bites her lip as she feels the terror inside her breast grow worse. _Just like the vision said… why did I have to have another vision?_

***

Slowly the geckos retreat as they find themselves outnumbered, but on their way out they manage to make off with a few of the assembled nobles, despite the best efforts of the guard and the Knights' Caeli. As the smoke of the geckos' departure clears roll is taken and casualties are assessed.

"Hitomi!" Millerna calls, searching frantically through the crowds as they are all moved into the main hall of the castle. "Van!"

"Queen Millerna," Allen says in a strained and quiet voice from near her as she continues to search, "You will find the two of them being tended to over here," he motions her to a small alcove where those with some knowledge of healing had been set up with supplies.

Millerna had been so wrapped up in her search for her friends that she had not even given a second thought to helping them, and it was probably better that way, Allen reasons, since Dryden would most certainly disapprove of her wasting her energies when there were others more qualified to the task at hand. Taking her elbow in hand, Allen leads her towards the alcove and shows her that the two of them are all right.

Van, kneeling beside Jasper's companion, is having his right sleeve cut off to check for the initial damage of the glass shards he had protected Hitomi from.

"I don't believe there will be any real damage to your arm, Your Majesty," she says, wiping her forehead with the back of her hand and leaving a smear or crimson in its wake. "Jasper, let me see your arm."

"Nil, you're bleeding," Jasper starts to protest.

"I'm not dying," she counters, "and you are the first priority."

"You sound just like Merle," Hitomi says absently, helping to finish up Van's minimal bandaging. "And… Arik…" she continues slowly.

"It is the duty of every bodyguard to put the life of their protectorate before their own," Nil informs Hitomi evenly. "Were you injured, My Lady?"

Jasper grumbles as the long, shallow slash running up his left forearm is cleaned and bandaged by Nil's nimble hands. "Lady Hitomi, meet Nileyah Calipse."

"At your service, My Lady," Nil says, finally washing the deeper gash on her own hand and wrapping a quick, tight bandage around it.

Hitomi nods dumbly, fretting about the wounds Van received protecting her, and hoping against hope that the incident has nothing to do with her vision.

***

Millerna, starting to move forward to check on Van and Hitomi, suddenly freezes in her tracks. "Queen Millerna?" Allen asks, sensing her sudden distress.

Breaking away from Allen, Millerna takes off at a dead run in the direction of the royal suite. "Your Majesty!" Allen calls out, incised, and follows her.

_ Oh, oh, Exeter… my gods, how could I have forgotten about you…_

Allen glances around, annoyed that he finds himself chasing Millerna when there are other things he could be doing to handle the situation, and angrily he wonders where Dryden is, Millerna, the Queen, after all, being his wife, and so his responsibility. His mind wanders, as he chases after her, about his sister's whereabouts.

***

A loud noise had awoken Celena, and she had left her room to check and see what was happening. As soon as she entered the hallway she had been pushed aside by several soldiers as they made their way frantically through the halls towards the ballroom.

She remembered that because she and Allen had quarreled about her attending the festivities. He thought it would be good for her to get out of her room and spend time with people her own age, but ever since she had seen the Fanelian King board the _Crusade_ she had felt a desperate urge to withdraw from the entire situation.

After the royal guard passed she thought immediately of the only other persons that would be anywhere away from the ball, and gone to seek out Duke Chid and Prince Exeter. As soon as she entered that wing of the castle she heard the sounds of a scuffle.

As she neared the prince's chambers the noises became louder and a wailing erupted from within as a dying scream resounded in her ears. Deep within her the urge to flee became overpowering, but something else… she could not be sure if it was the maternal instinct she often felt around Chid and the young prince or if it was the baser, more primal part of her that enjoyed watching her brother battle, but something else within her forced her to move forward and open the door of the prince's chamber.

When she saw the gecko advancing on the young prince, her vision went red, and the last thing she remembered was picking up the sword of one of the fallen guards.

***

Dryden enters the wing, fingers crossed, brow furrowed as he hopes against hope that his fears will not be confirmed. He had forced himself to leave Millerna once he knew that she was safe, because he simply had to know what became of their son. Swallowing as he hears the panting and the scuffle coming from the room, he throws the weight of his body into the door in his urgency to get inside.

"Exeter!" he calls through the door as he rams it with his shoulder again.

"Daddy!" a frightened voice shrieks in response.

After a third ram of his shoulder the door gives way, sending Dryden into the room and sprawling him on the wet carpet. Ignoring the wetness beneath him, he pushes himself up to his knees as he scans the area for his son, whom he finally sees huddled in the corner not too far away. Moving instantly to the young boy's side, Dryden glances around the room and takes in the scene, finally.

Celena Schezar, short hair drenched in sweat, stands holding a sword and fending off two geckos. As he watches, tucking Exeter's head against his chest to shield him from the further horrors of the situation, she cuts first one and then the other down.

She wheels around and focuses on Dryden, but, blue eyes recognizing him, she drops the sword, panting, and collapses to her hands and knees on the carpet.

"Celena?" he asks, voice unsure.

"Your… Majesty," she breathes heavily, "is the prince…"

"He is fine, thanks to you," Dryden replies, stroking the young boy's hair before looking down to see that his hands are wet as well, and then, glancing at the carpet, the coppery scent of the room hits him all at once, and he realizes that the carpet is drenched in blood.

"I'm… glad," she says before blacking out.

***

"Exeter!" Millerna cries out as she nears the room.

***

Standing, waiting on the High Bikathian's leisure, clad in her battle skirts and armor, Merle overhears part of the conversation she is having with Sotet.

"And you're positive?" Mot asks, standing and turning angrily to face the window in her office. "You're sure it was Gecko that attacked the Palas event?"

"All the Kathis in attendance have reported in with the same," Sotet responds, standing at attention with his hands hanging down his sides. "Your orders, Mistress Tovenaar?"

"Gather together the Council, we will discuss what to do this evening at late meal," Mot says with a snarl. "If it's a fight the rebels want… it is a fight they shall have."

"Mistress, would it not be wise to be assured of the safety of the Kathis' protectorates first?" Sotet asks.

"That is the duty of the Kathis themselves. Priority will be given to those whose countries are already overrun by traitors," Mot replies offhandedly. "Merle, come forth."

Stepping forward into the better lit area of the room, Merle falls into the same attentive stance that Sotet maintains. "Mistress?"

"You are to return to Fanelia and collect Dulchap and the High Priest, I want them brought here at once." Mot pauses, and then continues, as if to herself, "This is obviously of a larger scale than anticipated."

"Mistress were you expecting this development?"

"One never expects betrayal, Merle," Mot replies. "One fears it, one plans for it, but to say that I was expecting this…"

"Would that not imply some sort of prophetic ability, Mistress?" Sotet asks, staring straight ahead, hands tense at his sides. "One that no human may possess?"

_ And yet we all know that Mistress Mot is not human, no more than I am,_ Merle thinks to herself.

Sotet glances at the cat woman from the corner of his eye as he says this.

"Maintain no delusions about your position here, Sotet, you would do well to learn a bit more from Merle, your assignment will become the focus of your world just as hers has become to her."

Sotet grunts.

"Mock not your fate, Sotet," she responds. "Now, go call the council. Leave us."

With a stiff bow Sotet turns on his heel and exits the room, closing the door behind him. "Mistress, what's going on?"

"A group of Gecko attacked the anniversary celebration in Palas."

"Gecko, Mistress?" Merle asks in a revolted tone.

"Certain nobles were taken by them… the list should arrive by this evening," Mot shrugs off the news with a thin lipped mask covering her face. "Do not worry, your king and the Lady Hitomi were unharmed, as was the royal family…" Mot ponders that outcome for a moment, "I believe there is something more to that… but I will know more once the report arrives."

"When do I depart, Mistress?" Merle asks, an edge to her voice asking for the High Bikathian to hurry up her musings and get on with it.

"After the late meal, I am well aware of your traveling preferences, and I would like you to sit in on the council meeting."

"Yes, Mistress."

Allen frowns as he pulls the covers up to Celena's chin. From Dryden's report, and he had soon dropped his anger at being forced to chase the Queen on her mad dash to Exeter's room as it had proved to locate his other two persons of concern, Chid and Celena, as well as the fact that the king was already inside the dim bedroom with the prince when he had arrived and hadn't run to hide somewhere else.

Chid had entered the room, quite undisturbed by anything more than the commotion of Millerna's screaming, and had been ushered, along with everyone else, back out into the hallway. Exeter, Chid, and Celena had been arranged new temporary quarters, since the stench of Exeter's old bedroom was permeating the wing, and the room was ordered cleaned up by the Queen before Dryden forced her to calm down and return to her guests, assured of the safety of both Exeter and Chid by Allen's presence.

Exeter had not spoken a single word, but his father had declined sending him to bed just then, and Chid had opted to do what he could to help his aunt and uncle in reorganizing the castle, leaving Allen to tend to his sister.

From the king's reports, Allen has a sinking feeling in his gut as he glances down at her slumbering form. She had been minimally wounded during the battle, nothing deeper than a scratch, but her sudden recollection of swordplay was alarming, nonetheless. Sinking down into a chair he takes her hand, quietly, and presses his lips to her knuckles.

***

Van and Hitomi had been the first to receive quarters once the tallies were taken, and though Hitomi wanted to look for Kira and ask after Jasper's condition, Van's quiet insistence won her over.

The connected rooms are much less elaborate and splendid than the prior suites their belongings occupied, but neither feels uncomfortable as they explore the single two bedroom suite they were assigned. Van makes sure that Hitomi is settled before leaving briefly to check on the other Fanelian nobles that had accompanied them.

Hitomi, sitting in the inner room, looks at the drab walls and then down at her ball gown, a frown creasing her lips as she peels the gloves off her arms and takes off the jewelry Fanelia had loaned her for the event. Still feeling somewhat overdressed she goes to her bags and searches out a more functional outfit.

Upon returning, Van sighs and leans up against the door.

"Van?" Hitomi calls from the back room.

"Yeah, it's just me… Hitomi."

***

Jasper looks around, somewhat fretfully, Nil following him. He stops one of the guards and asks politely, "Might I inquire after the Princess Kira of Basram?"

"My sincerest apologies, Prince Jasper, but the Princess Kira hasn't been seen or heard of since the Gecko attacked," the list bearing guard says, "It appears that she was one of those that was taken by them."

Shocked to silence, Jasper stares down at the list in the guard's hand. "Thank you, sir," Nil says, and the guard continues on his way. "Jasper…" Nil's voice is low, warning and she takes him by the arm, moving him out of the grand high arched hallway and into a small alcove with a fountain.

"Kira…" he whispers quietly. "I thought for sure that she…"

"Regretfully she is the middle child," Nil says quietly.

"So she had no…"

"None, Jasper," she requires quietly. "If I had known…"

"No," Jasper replies, putting his arms around her and pulls her close, leaning his face against her hair. "No, I know what you're going to say, Nil, and no. You couldn't have done anything more than you did. It was hard enough for you to keep up with me last evening… I wouldn't expect for you to do any more than what you were already doing."

Nil closes her eyes. _It seems that all of us are doomed to fail at some point._

"You like her," Nil says in a low voice.

"Yes, I suppose I do," Jasper replies, closing his eyes.

Nil pulls away gently and turns towards the windows to the outside courtyard, "We will get her back then."

Jasper, blinking, looks at Nil with disbelieving eyes.

"Trust me," Nil says, smiling compassionately, "There are harder things to do than track Gecko," she reaches back and takes his hand in her own bandaged one, "Come on, let's go see what Dryden's working on about retrieving his wife's guests."

Jasper nods quietly, and the two of them start on down the hallway.

***

Awakening, she can hear next to nothing, and feels only cold. The sleeves of her gown are too thin to be of any use to her as the cage trundles along.

"So… Fillah," a snake-like voice says, "What do you think that one will fetch with the high and mighty folk?"

"If you ask me," another voice from outside her range of view says, "I don't think that capturing a bunch of spoiled rich kids wasn't worth the lives we lost in doing it."

"Hey, it wasn't our fault that there were Kathis at that party."

_ Kathis…?_ She pulls her arms more tightly around her in an attempt to stave off the cold. Slowly the others in the cage wake up.

"Did we get any of them?"

"I didn't see… but then I was with Kaiser's unit… going after that Prince from Cesario." She sits up and puts her hands on the bars.

"How is Kaiser…?"

"He lost his hand."

"Did you get the prince?" the first voice asks.

"No, we barely got away after he dove out the window like he did… met up with that Fanelian king, and man I'm glad we weren't after him. He fought like a demon."

Lowering her eyes as a hand grasps her trailing sleeve, she glances over to see one of the other young women in the cage crying piteously and starting to cling to her. Setting her lips in a firm line, dark hair hanging limply as she slaps the young woman.

"What was that for!" The other princess demands, angrily clutching the side of her face. She starts to sniffle as she gets done wither indignant reply.

"You were going to get hysterical," Kira replies evenly.

"What sort of a princess are you?" the other young woman demands, still crying.

"I'm _not_ one," Kira says angrily.


	17. Sixteen Morning After

**Amoro Revidi**

Title: Morning After [Part Sixteen]  
Series: Vision of Escaflowne  
Rating: PG-13  
_A/N: Part __13... wrote this one rather quickly, I might add._

***

Seated behind his desk with Millerna quietly rocking Exeter in her lap off to one side, Dryden drum his fingers on the solid wood top in frustration.

"We need to go after them now, Your Majesty, while they are still within the country. If we wait too much longer they will escape our grasp, and…"

"I appreciate your concern, Prince Jasper, but…"

"How many were taken, King Dryden?" a quiet voice from Jasper's side asks.

In the midmorning sunlight Dryden looks over the young woman standing at his side. He looks down at one of his papers and finds the name that appears to fit her, _Nileyah Calipse… his Kathis_. He continues to regard her appraisingly.

Standing next to Jasper, who is very nearly Dryden's height of a few inches over six feet, she appears to be relatively short, but then considering the height difference between himself and Millerna, Dryden can't mark her off as too short. Her black hair falls to reach her chin where it is allowed free, but most of it is swept back and secured by a short braid at the back of her head. Her brown eyes are downcast as she speaks, but Dryden finds himself unconvinced by the subservient display.

"Twelve."

"And they were all middle sons and daughters?" she asks.

"Yes, yes, your point being?"

"They were not afforded the proper protection by your guards. We did not loose more because of the Kathis in attendance," she says in a quiet voice. "If they are not located… there might arise an incident from these circumstances."

"Are you suggesting…?" Dryden begins.

"I am merely stating the circumstances that you should be aware of," she looks up at him, "I would like to volunteer to head a group to search for the missing, with your permission."

_ Interesting… I was under the impression that they did not act against the wishes of their protectorates…_ "And Prince Jasper?"

"I trust that if you are aware of the possibility of a further attack, he will be better guarded… as well as the others here in attendance, giving those of us with less than," she pauses as she glances to her companion, "the more noble heritage of our friends the opportunity to track and retrieve those that have been captured."

Dryden considers, leaning his head on one hand and glancing back to Millerna, who nods almost imperceptibly. "You have my leave, for those of you leaving, please have your… counterparts report to the throne room and we will have it made appropriate for their accommodations while you are absent."

"Thank you, Your Majesty," she says, lowering her eyes once again.

***

Lying on his side and staring at the door, Van cannot get his mind off the attack. It had been so long since he had been forced to fight… almost three years since anything had made him draw his sword in more than a practice battle.

He closes his eyes, trying to force the memory of that horrid day from his mind, but finds that he cannot.

*

The sun was high in the sky and he and Merle had taken it off as a holiday. The two of them had ridden out past the castle walls to have a picnic with some of the villagers from down below.

It was warm out, and neither he nor Merle had dressed very smartly for it. Finally getting to the village, they found it deserted, with people lying wounded and the houses looking burnt and broken.

Both had dismounted to see what good could be done, but in the end it had been a trap. Rogue soldiers from one of the outer baronies had come to maraud the low lands because their own crops had failed and they had received no word of relief coming from the capital because Van's advisors had not made him aware of the situation.

A battle ensued…

***

"Van?" Hitomi calls out quietly.

She had heard him breathing loudly, as though he were having a nightmare, and had slipped from bed, and crept barefoot across the drawing room between their two bedrooms. The guard outside had not seen her, but had heard the movement and started to come in to check.

Quietly she assured him that it would be all right and Reddes, one of Allen's crew, had nodded in response and returned to his watch of the outside area.

Unhindered by his noise, Hitomi crosses and opens Van's door slightly, peeking her head in and glancing around.

He remains lying on his side on the bed, eyes closed tightly as though in pain. "Van?"

When he doesn't respond she comes into the room, closing the door quietly behind her. She feels a slight chill in the air and suddenly wishes for more than the thin nightgown the seamstresses made for her in Fanelia, the climate of seaside Palas being somewhat cooler in the winter. Hitomi crosses the room slowly, until she is standing directly before him.

Again, she says his name, "Van?"

Opening his eyes, he looks up at her, bewilderment and fear written across his face. "Van," she kneels down so that their faces are level, "it's me, Van… Hitomi."

"Hi-to-mi?" She nods in response and reaches a hand out to brush the hair from his forehead and to cool the sweat there.

"What's wrong Van?" She moves to check the bandage on his arm.

"N-nothing," he responds, shaking off his bewilderment after a moment as she shudders. "You're shivering," he says in response, making room on the bed for her to sit down.

"I'm fine, Van," she responds, unable to control another shiver.

"You say that and yet you shiver again?" Van asks, drawing her to sit on the bed and pulling one of the blankets folded at the end of his bed up and around her shoulders. "I suppose we should've thought about the climate difference in Palas when we had your clothes made. Have you been cold much?" Rubbing her blanket covered arms with his hands he looks into her eyes inquisitively.

"Not… too much," Hitomi replies, leaning against him and sighing.

The two of them remain silent for a long while and Van carefully draws his arms up around her back, relaxing from the memories as she nestles herself against him.

***

Riding quickly over the uneven path, Merle frowns slightly. The rain falling is cold and the dark clouds do not help vision any, but the horse she's riding knows the way and she puts her trust in that.

The report had come in as Mot said it would, and the High Bikathian had met with the council, Merle in attendance, as required. Things were not looking well. Cesario had recently undergone attempts at rebellion by a small faction with staggering technology, as had Basram for somewhat more founded reasons, the elected king had become something close to a totalitarian ruler rather than the constitutional monarch that he was, and coupled with the coup in Ispano things weren't looking good for the ruling class of Gaea.

Even Merle was forced to admit that she could see the reasoning behind bringing Arik and Tristan to the compound, for their own safety as well as in order to protect both the High Priest and Fanelia from further mischief.

The ride down the mountain is the hardest leg of her journey, but as soon as she reaches the foothills she feels a familiar calm settle in her chest. The fields and roads become more familiar to her as she gets deeper and deeper into Fanelian territory and she is soon greeted by workers hurrying to get their livestock indoors from the chilling winter rains.

Entering the castle and not stopping any longer than to settle her horse in the stables, Merle proceeds directly to the room that Tristan and Arik are staying in, discarding her soaking riding cloak with a maid that catches up to her as she moves quickly through the halls.

_ I am sorry… but for once Mot is right…_

***

Arik stands and looks out the window, seeing Merle ride into the gates and stop briefly at the stables. Tristan, napping, is unaware of the change in the situation, and she looks over at him with a sigh before moving to stand just outside the door in preparation for meeting up with her fellow Kathis. She picks up a blanket before stepping out the door.

"Merle," Arik says as the cat woman approaches at a quick pace, long hair in a braid down her back with her armor and battle skirt on, soaked quite thoroughly to the bone and looking displeased about something.

"Mistress Mot says you are to bring him and go to the compound at once."

"I figured as much," Arik responds, leaning her back against the door and folding her arms on her chest. "And if he refuses?"

"There was no request involved," Merle says with a flick of her tail. She glances at her fellow Kathis and says, "Do you have an extra blanket in there, I…"

Arik hands her the soft blanket and says, "Hate being wet. A byproduct of being a cat woman, undoubtedly."

Merle sniffs and begins to towel herself dry with the blanket. "Also because the rain is ice cold and I rode straight through to get here."

"It seems the Mistress is greatly agitated, what else happened?" Arik asks, gray eyes narrowing. "She must have known that I was going to get him there as soon as I was able."

***

Hearing voices somewhat muted by the door, Tristan wakes, brushing the hair from his eyes, and looks outside. The rain, which had picked up late the prior evening, continues to fall, and as he looks around the room he notices that Arik is absent.

Snippets of the conversation reach him and he pulls the covers back from the bed, climbing out and heading to the door.

"…I see…" Arik's voice floats through to him. "He's awake now," she opens the door and Tristan sees that she is conversing with Merle.

"What's going on?" he asks.

"We're leaving," Arik says in a quick, low voice, "start packing what little you've got to pack."

Tristan glances at Merle, who looks back at him evenly. "Why?"

"Because I'm well enough to travel, and because we're endangering Fanelia by staying," Arik says, pushing past him into the room and beginning to pack his things for him. "I would have given you more time to adjust to the idea, but something's come up and there isn't time to argue with it now."

Tristan starts to protest but recalls something his mother said to him before Arik ever arrived, _And she will look out for you, my son. You've got to trust her if she makes a decision you don't agree with, because she's coming to protect you, and it is for the best._ Without another word he nods with a frown and moves to help her.

"Do you have horses we can take?" Arik asks Merle.

"I'll go see to that, and you'll be wanting some good thick cloaks in this weather," the cat woman says, tossing the wet blanket into the wooden chair next to the door and turning, "I'll be back shortly. You're going to have to explain it to the Chief Advisor, though."

Arik glances at Tristan, "We'll think of something," she replies.


	18. Seventeen Intruding Darkenss

**Amoro Revidi**

Title: Intruding Darkness [Part Seventeen]  
Series: Vision of Escaflowne  
Rating: PG-13  
_A/N: Part __17, after much fuss and fighting with me, has finally decided it's ready to be born._

***

A commotion outside rouses Kira from her light rest. It had been hard forcing the other nobility within the cage, the four young women aside from herself never having been taken to task by another of their own status, to arrange themselves so that they all had room to stretch out their weary bodies on the hard floor of the cage to get some rest, and Kira had been the last to fall asleep. Since they had accepted her temporary leadership, she was also in charge of their emotional well being, they had decided.

Kira found herself comforting the youngest of them, the daughter of Baroness someone or other from the Barony of somewhere or else, and the train of cages had stopped for the evening, their gecko captors starting small fires to warm themselves around before Kira could arrange herself semi-comfortably on the small space she had allotted herself in the cage and fall into a light repose. Sometime afterwards, she reckons, the gecko had lowered tarps over the cages to keep the worst of the wind and the weather off their captives.

As she stretches her chilled arms and rubs her hands together she thinks wryly that it didn't do horrible amounts of good, but it did at least do some good since she can hear icy raindrops hitting the fabric surrounding the cages. Peering under one slightly upturned corner of the mismatching tarps, Kira glances out at their surroundings in an attempt to see what noise had awoken her.

***

Not even a full hour after he had given the go ahead, Dryden found twelve of the safe nobles standing and waiting in the throne room. The young woman, Nileyah, bowed and took her leave, an assortment of apparent Kathis, eleven others in fact, promising to return as quickly as possible with those missing.

Dryden stands watching the small troupe of bodyguards as they head out of the castle on horseback without so much as a single tracking animal among them, and shakes his head. He turns to look at Millerna, who dozes with Exeter in her arms napping, the early afternoon sunlight streaming down through the stained glass windows and painting her face with soft patterns of blues and reds and even some greens. He smiles fondly and crosses to her, lifting Exeter from her arms as he stirs and hushing the child before he wakes her, he carries the young man from the room.

***

"Uncle Dryden?" Chid asks, looking up from the book in front of him as the king of Asturia enters the room and shuts the door quietly behind him.

"Chid, would you mind looking after Exeter for a while?"

Chid nods slowly. "What's going on?"

"Millerna's wearing herself out worrying about everything…" Dryden absently runs his hand through his dark hair, "I want to make sure she gets some rest and be assured that Exeter's all right at the same time."

Chid smiles knowingly at his uncle. "No problem, Uncle Dryden."

Dryden nods his thanks and hands the young Duke the crown prince before turning and heading back to the throne room.

***

Lying in his embrace contentedly, Hitomi finds her thoughts drawn back to Earth and what she left behind to come and spend time on Gaea with Van. Outside rain begins to fall, and Van tucks the blankets more tightly around her. "You're thinking about your home, aren't you?" he asks in a quiet voice.

Slowly, Hitomi nods in response to his question.

"If you're ready to go back…"

"No," she says quickly, turning to look up at him. The years had been more than kind to Van in that respect, he had grown to be at least half a foot taller than she, and as she glances up into the dark crimson of his eyes, she feels a twinge of doubt. "I don't want to go back, Van… I'm not… ready to go back yet."

Van, puzzled, tilts his head as she buries her face against his chest and snuggles down into his embrace. "Hitomi, I don't think I quite understand."

"… sometimes," she begins in a quite voice, muffled by the wrap of the blankets around her neck and the fabric of his shirt she speaks into. She pauses, inhaling his scent and feeling the fear-heightened beating of her heart slow with that comforting reminder of his presence, "Sometimes I think that I want to go back, Van, but…"

Van sighs, "Then maybe it _is_ time for you to return home, Hitomi. I hate to think that you're in danger again just because of me…"

"But then I remember that there isn't really anything for me to go back to, Van." He falls silent, trailing off and lifting his hand to gently stroke her hair. "When I was here last… on Gaea… I was homesick, I missed my family, and my friends. Yukari, and… Amano… but it's different there now, Van."

He swallows.

"And as for being in danger, I think the accident proves that people are in danger everywhere they can be, on Earth or on Gaea. I could've _died_ in that car crash, Van… and then what?" he tightens his grip on her and shakes his head, refuting that claim of hers. "Then nothing," she takes a deep breath. "I… I don't have anything to go back to this time, Van."

Van listens quietly, his heart nearly breaking as he hears the forlorn note of her voice and her final conclusion. "Well you could… always stay here, Hitomi."

"Where?" her voice is soft, quiet, and there is a slight tremble to it as she relaxes against him. "I'll eventually have to go back. I can't stay here forever."

Van swallows. "But you _could_ stay. With me."

***

The small party of Kathis descended upon the wagon train just as the afternoon sun began to sink into the mountains. Planning out their attack they had lain low and waited for the instant when the sun would be at the proper angle to blind the Gecko, and once that moment came they flew forward into the breech, dispatching the remaining guards quickly and then moving to free those nobles that had been taken prisoner.

Nil manages to be the first towards the wagons and slashes the tarp free of the wall of the first cage, awakening the four gathered within. She glances around as the others circle up behind her to open the cage and let them out, and moves on when she does not find Princess Kira within.

Revealing those contained within the final cage, Nileyah finds the princess staring at her evenly. With a single down stroke of her blade across the crude lock on the door of the cage, Nil opens the cage, not breaking eye contact. "Who are you?" Kira asks, not making a move towards the opened door of the cage as the other princesses scramble over each other to get out.

"I am sent by Prince Jasper to retrieve you, Princess Kira."

"To retrieve me?"

"I regret only that I was unable to protect you during the initial attack."

"You're a Kathis, then?" she asks slowly. Nil nods, "Nileyah Calipse at your service, highness. Please, come with me."

"How can I be sure of that? How do I know that you aren't just the rival of whoever sent the Gecko?"

"Because I give you my word."

Kira eyes Nil for a long moment, narrowing her own eyes to violet slits and then nods slowly, getting up into a crouching stance and making her way out of the cage and accepting the hand Nil extends to help her down with. "He likes you a great deal," Nil responds as she escorts Kira along with the others towards their horses, "and I can see why."

"I doubt he would like me so much if he knew I wasn't really a princess."

"Even though your father was elected King that doesn't mean you aren't royalty, Princess," Nil responds, "at the very least in his eyes."

Kira glances at the short haired young woman as they make their way through the chilled mud towards the clearing where the Kathis' horses are waiting, and blinks in confusion, but restrains her questions until later.

***

Mot stands in her office. It is dark and the only illumination comes from the flickering of the fire behind her and the moonlight streaming in through the window she stands in front of. A glass of wine is swirled gently in her left hand and she glances down, easily able to pick out two figures on horseback making their way up the mountainous tract below the Compound.

_ For nearly two hundred years of Gaean history we have done our very best to protect those who are deemed fit and worthy to rule and govern over the land._ Mot sips her wine and draws her free right hand up across her stomach as she contemplates the two riders, _In the past, we have fallen short of our ultimate goal of world-wide peace, but we have never failed to protect those we are assigned to protect with our very lives, and to look out for their best interests despite their impact on our own._

_ This is the life we lead, the life we are brought up in, the one that destiny lies before us, drawing each of us up from the dregs where fortune cast us to place upon our capable shoulders the weight of responsibility we are trained to bear._

For a moment she stares into the glass and sees her own reflection, high cheek boned face with silver-gray hair framing a troubled brow over dark eyes, and then her vision blurs on that image and she allows her eyes to close to slits as a vision sweeps into the moon and fire lit room around her.

_ Since my first years my fate has been bound to that of all Gaea, and this I have accepted complacently, yet it has never been in my nature to be complacent. With these last thirty years those Kathis that have been trained under my high command have failed in their missions to maintain peace, and yet have gone to greater lengths to protect those they are assigned to._

'Perhaps it is simply that you were never meant for a peaceful world,' a figure behind her says, and she feels the chill rush of memory, and can almost smell the dank depths of the dungeon around her, can vividly recall the temperature and weight of the shackles on her wrists. 'You Kathis and your high and mighty cause are nothing!'

_ The visions of him come more frequently now than they used to. What does it mean, and why must it all fall apart now, why when Sotet is so nearly ready to take his place in the world?_

***

After riding several hours back to the capital through the chilling rain, the Kathis detachment ushers their charges into the waiting gondolas and heads back for the palace, on the final leg of their journey. Kira looks over at Nil, who hasn't left her side since helping her down from the cage in the gecko encampment, and finds the young staring straight at her, silver eyes as blank as the expression on her face.

Unlike the other young women, who seem to be steadily avoiding eye contact with their saviors, or the young men who contrarily seem quite displeased with themselves and sullen because of it, Kira stares into Nil's eyes and smiles. "I'd… like to thank you, Nileyah."

"Why would you thank me, Princess?" Nil's voice is empty and even as she asks the question Kira feels a small chill run down her spine.

"Is that not what is proper in this situation? To thank," Kira places special emphasis on her words, "our saviors for their aide in our time of need?" The other young nobles look down or away as she says this, but a few mutter their thanks to the Kathis present in the vicinity.

"You needn't do that, Princess," Nil replies in a tone most obviously only for her ears. Kira glances around and finds that none of the other nobles take note of Nil's words, so she dares to respond.

"They… they can't hear you, can they?" she asks the Kathis protector that had taken her under wing.

"No, nor you."

"Why shouldn't I thank you?" Kira asks quickly, as though fearing the spell might wear off at some close point in time that she cannot fully grasp.

"It was my duty to do so, Princess. It does not mean I took pleasure in the act, or that I like you." Kira ponders that, chewing slightly on the inside of her lower lip.

"You hate me then?"

"I do not hate you. I dislike you in the manner I dislike all other women that might attract Jasper's attention."

"You're in love with Jasper!" Kira exclaims in more of an incredulous manner than an accusatory one. "Does he know?"

"It is neither my place nor my station to love Prince Jasper," Nil replies, her voice steady but the blank look in her eyes slipping to reveal something of a wistful glint to them, "A Kathis to their protectorate is nothing more than an androgynous bodyguard until such a time arises in which an heir **must** be produced at all costs."

Kira's face pales after a moment as she grasps the full meaning of Nil's speech, and she looks down a moment at her hands, which are holding the slightly dampened blanket around her shoulders securely. When she chances to look up again, she finds Nil's own eyes are focused elsewhere, and the eerie still and quiet of the prior moment's conversation is broken.

"Princess Kira," one of the other young noblewomen begins, "What's with that look on your face? Are you chilled still? Hungry?"

"No," Kira responds, voice trailing off as she has no other answer for the young lady seated beside her.

***

As the hours passed at the castle, Millerna slumbered on peacefully in her husband's protective embrace. He had returned to the throne room and collected the sleeping queen and retired the two of them to their bedroom. Finally almost completely alone, he was unashamed to speak his mind, so he did.

"You were right about what you said, my Goddess," he whispers to her in a crooning voice, stroking her platinum pale bangs back from her forehead, "I am quite afraid of you. Terrified in fact. Every time I look at you I grow weak and find myself unable to act the way I normally would. And yet at the same time I know what I want to do when I see you, and I fear every time that the weaker part of me, the part that loves you for who you are on the outside and not what you feel or think… will win out.

"I couldn't stand to see you hurt, Millerna, and that's why I'm always so cautious around you. You must know… you **must** know that I love you, more than the stars, and the moons, and the sun and my own life itself, but I simply won't allow the love I hold for you to be of any burden or pain to you."

***

While the king and queen remain ensconced in their rooms, the other nobility mixed quietly in the throne room, since it was secured doubly, both by the Royal Guard and the remaining Kathis that had not headed out to rescue those taken. There were several notable absences during the beginning of the very informal mixer, but after a while, even Van and Hitomi made their way down to join the others for social time.

Dressed, again, in a flowing gown, Hitomi finds herself tucked neatly at Van's side as they descend into the bedecked throne room, and feels her spirits wither at the harsh glances from the varied ladies in attendance. The doubtful part of her mind makes up several rounds of nasty rumors that are being said about her and the association she has with Van.

The voices close in around her, effectively putting up a barrier between her and the rest of the assemblage, and the only thing that keeps her steady and stable is the warm, stable presence of Van beside her as he guides her around the crowds with a careful eye on her and those that step close. His over protective manner does not go unnoticed by the others gathered and it begins to circle that Fanelia will not be long without a queen.

Fuming and about to speak up about the nature of his relationship to Hitomi, in order to quell rumors and put her tense person more at ease, Van finds himself face to face with Jasper. "Your Majesty," Jasper says, executing a formal bow.

"Prince Jasper," Van replies cordially, some of his anger abating to find at least one of the nobles willing to set aside the gossip mongering and speak sensibly.

"I know it's frustrating to stand here and let them insult Lady Hitomi, and yourself, Majesty, but…" Jasper speaks a little lower but with the obvious intent that only those around them should not listen in, "Everyone is quite on edge about our missing peers, so I beg you not to be so angry that you would cause a scene."

About to rebuke the Cessarian prince, Van is stopped by Hitomi's quiet voice insisting, "He _is_ right, Van."

***

On a rocky path leading higher up into the mountains than the Shrine of Escaflowne, Arik and Tristan ride at a slow and steady pace against the buffeting winds and chill rain. Arik turns back to glance at Tristan, who had never been much of a horseman in his life, and finds him struggling to maintain his grip.

"You should have let me switch mounts with you back there," she calls to him against the wind. They had stopped to rest only a few hours before and it was more than obvious that Tristan's mount had a sincere distaste for being ridden by the High Priest.

"You said it wouldn't be too much farther, I trust you," he calls back from the lag of a horse length or two behind her.

Arik frowns, _You are noble, but you don't have to act that way all the time, Tristan._ She turns back and urges her own mount a little farther ahead through the mud and slippery rocks, beginning to call forth the spell that will open the road to the Bikathian Compound.

"On a road that leads to nowhere, but is found in every place, at a time when we are called to return to our roots, from forth this bleak path I exchange the present for the hope of the future!" Arik closes her eyes and stands in the stirrups, extending one hand before her to channel the power she has just called forth.

Slowly, at first, and then faster, mist begins to collect before her on the trail, and as it thickens it begins to take shape, that of an ornate outer gate, one situated on the very edge of the Compound's land holdings. The ornamentation is old and weathered but not chipped and the locks are still as solid as ever.

Slipping down from her mount, Arik steps up to the gate and draws off her left glove, which she, chanting some more under her breath, lifts and touches the lock with. As she touches it, the gates swing open, and Tristan's horse catches up to hers just as she remounts. "How did you do that?" he asks her quietly, leaning a little closer against the wind noise.

"Nevermind that, this is the way we must go."

Without another word, Arik starts her horse off forwards and enters the gate. Puzzled at her reticence to speak about the subject, Tristan follows unquestioningly.


	19. Eighteen Customs and Formalities

**Amoro Revidi**

Title: Customs and Formalities [Part Eighteen]  
Series: Vision of Escaflowne  
Rating: PG-13  
_A/N: Part __18, gomen-nasai minna-san, I'm so sorry that this part took three months, but it was really hard to finish, and this is shorter than I wanted it to be anyway. It's missing like two pages that I guess I'll just put on the next part._

***

Seated before the High Bikathian in her private quarters, the tables have turned. Tristan sits tall in his chair, looking very formal and every inch the High Priest he has been bred and brought up to be, and Arik slouches like a scolded child, looking very out of place against the neat and orderly background in her rain and mud splattered clothing. Tristan, on the other hand, seems impervious to the state of disarray his robes are in around him, and regards Mot curiously. '_So this is the person that Arik is so afraid of,_' he thinks to himself.

"It's a pleasure to be able to receive you, High Priest Tristan," Mot says very formally, bowing low, spreading her skirts around her. "I am only sorry we had to meet under such circumstances. Your mother was a very good friend of mine, and I was very sorry to hear she had passed away." For a moment the dark eyes flicker over to regard Arik, reminding everyone in the room just why the High Priestess Iona died.

"I guess it was just her time," Tristan says, staring straight into Mot's eyes. "No one could have known what would have transpired that day. Even she herself seemed surprised at what transpired."

"Still, your father shouldn't have been so harsh with her."

***

"I don't care if he is right, Hitomi, I don't like it when people insult you that way," Van responded. Jasper steps a little closer to the two of them, moving to draw them towards the refreshment table, but Van resists, pulling away from Jaspers gentle persuasions to go towards the tables to the side and stepping forward, leading Hitomi, to step out into the circle of guests.

Hitomi smiles apologetically at Jasper as the two of them move away towards where Chid is standing quietly near the empty thrones. "Duke Chid, how are you doing?" Hitomi asks with a cordial smile to the young prince of Freid.

"Quite well, Hitomi, and yourself?"

The rain outside seems to pick up for a moment as a gust of wind blows it against the windows of the palace, and Van turns his agitated eyes outwards to see a line of figures moving steadily towards the castle. As he watches, they are met by the palace guard and questioned, and without more than a moment's hesitation they are let through to enter quietly.

"I find it hard to tell the days from the nights, with all this rain," Hitomi remarks amicably, glancing anxiously at Van, only to find his temper nearly completely abated.

"It gets this way in Asturia, and sometimes in Freid, especially in the springtime. It's something Fanelia does not experience, being in a more temperate and slightly tropical area."

"I see."

The doors at the end of the throne room are opened and a messenger steps in, drawing the attention from the small conversations that had popped up around the room. The messenger coughs quietly and then begins to speak, "The contingent of Kathis have returned from their rescue mission, and all those that were abducted have been returned and are recovering."

"Really?" Hitomi says gleefully, taking a step towards the messenger, who smiles. Jasper wordlessly pushes through the crowd and moves off down the hallway. Hitomi starts to follow him, but Van touches her elbow gently and regains her attention. "What is it, Van?"

"Can I speak with you… alone?" He glances around the room and notes with some small pleasure that the other nobles are too wrapped up in the messenger's continuing ramble of a message about the status of those returned to be listening to intently to his questioning of Hitomi. 'It seems as though we are always alone together and can never speak to one another,' he thinks to himself as she nods, unblushing. 'I hate these gatherings so much.'

"If you'll excuse us, Duke Chid?" she smiles and curtsies to the young Duke of Fried. He smiles.

"Hitomi?"

"Yes, Duke Chid?"

"You will come talk with me again, before you depart Asturia this time, won't you?" His small, cherub-like face beams up at her, but even as she nods and smiles she finds that he's changed, grown taller, the chubbiness of childhood slipping from his face and body.

"Of course, Duke Chid."

"Then you may go," he says in a tone that nearly makes Hitomi shiver it reminds her so much of his surrogate father, Duke Mahad, but the warm smile on his face as he waves while Van leads her away melts the chill she feels from her body.

***

Jasper strides purposefully down the quiet hallway, the noise of his boots echoing against the marble floors dampened slightly by the tapestries hanging on the walls. _Asturia is ever a showy kingdom, but then I suppose they can afford it,_ he thinks to himself as he heads down to where the messenger said the returning nobles were being tended to, and finds himself shortly in a small sea of people.

"More hot blankets!"

"Taa over here!"

Jasper pauses at the edge of the small parlor and frowns, looking across the fifty square feet of people bustling about, shouting and calling back and forth as they tend to the chilled and soggy noble children that had recently been returned.

After a moment Jasper decides to brave the crowd and look for Kira and Nil, but every time he tries to speak to one of the attendants they are called away. Exasperated, he is about to shout when a familiar hand catches his elbow. "Prince Jasper, she is this way."

He turns and finds himself looking down into Nil's brown eyes. "What?"

"Princess Kira," Nil replies, voice even and neutral. "She is this way." Without another word she begins to gently navigate her way back through the crowd, fingers gently cupping his elbow like a tug boat through the waterway of bodies to a small corner. Kira stands regally, somehow maintaining whatever noble aspect she was born with, despite her soggy gown and straggly black hair.

"Kira," Jasper says in breathless relief.

She turns her head to the side slowly, "Jasper."

He smiles and takes a step forward, removing his waist cloak and draping it around her shoulders on top of the fresh, warm blanket the attendants brought in when she arrived with the party and rubs her upper arms through the fabric. "Was it very terrible?"

"Only because some of our peers are more skittish than forest animals and look to any form of authority during a crisis," she says quietly, violet eyes not quite meeting his green ones. "I don't ever want to have to manage such impractical people as those again."

Jasper smiles with a faint chuckle. "You must be hungry, would you like to come with me and see what we can scare up?"

"Anything," she says quietly, "just get me out of this crowd."

***

Mot smiles faintly to herself as she watches the High Priest and Arik move towards their chamber in her mind's eye. The young Priest had been more inclined to protecting and favoring his Kathis than she had dared to hope before they arrived. She was slightly displeased at Arik's reaction to the entire scenario, however, and felt that the girl would do much better to remember her duties as a Kathis, given the alternate fate that had awaited the girl from her somewhat unfortunate birth.

She opens her eyes as a knock sounds on her door. "Enter, Sotet."

The door opens with nothing more than the quiet woosh of air as the thick wooden mass pushes in to admit her son. "I bring news of King Ouran."

She closes her dark eyes in a wince of pain to hear his name on her son's lips, but forces herself to say evenly, "What news?"

"Apparently… he has requested a meeting."

"I am allowed no contact with Daeluzito keb Ouran."

"It isn't with you that he has requested the meeting," Sotet says quietly. "He has requested it with me."

Shocked, moments pass and Mot says nothing, fear wrenching at her insides and causing sharp, stabbing pains to her stomach. _After so much time he finally desires to see his son? I wonder what has changed so that would make him want to see the 'bastard half-breed' I birthed._

"Mother," Sotet says in the barest whisper, "what shall we do?"

Mot looks down for a moment and then back into the flames in the fireplace before her. "We ask the council, it is neither my place to tell you no, nor is it my place to tell you yes."

***

Jasper checks to be sure that the blanket is secure around Kira's shoulders as the two of them walk through the halls, Nil moving quietly behind them near the walls. "Thank you," Kira says quietly, looking down at her feet as they walk, knowing she must look an utter and complete mess.

***

"Yukari?" Amano asks his fiancé quietly as she enters the apartment.

"Yes, Amano?" she replies, hanging her coat up just inside the door and changing into her slippers.

"Where were you?" he returns to the drafting on his table, glasses being pushed up his nose slightly as he slides the t-square along the table.

"Checking on Hitomi's house," Yukari says evenly, and then pauses, glancing around the apartment and falling very still and silent.

"Oh? It's all ok, right?" Amano asks absently before turning to glance at her. Once he rests his eyes on her he sets down his pencil and takes off his glasses, crossing to put his arms around her reassuringly. "What's wrong?" he coos in her ear.

"I just miss her, is all…" Yukari begins.

Amano cuts her off, "No, you feel guilty. You hadn't seen her in, what was it, four years?" Yukari nods and ducks her head slightly. "Look, Yuka, it's not your fault, you know that right?"

Yukari weakly leans forward and buries her face against his neck. "I miss her, and I'm worried about her, Amano."

The phone rings in the background, but Amano lets the answering machine pick it up. "Susumu residence, we are unable to take your call at the moment, please leave a message after the tone."

"Amano, Yukari, I know you're there, please pick up." The voice on the other end of the phone is hoarse and scratchy, but the two of them freeze as they recognize it.

Amano glances down at Yukari for a moment and the two of them break apart to pick up the phone.

***

"I've been meaning to talk to you about this for some time, actually."

She turns slightly to regard him, her face blank as she does so, and glances behind them for anyone else around. "What-" she begins, but he cuts her off, hushing her, by lifting his fingers to her lips.

"Just let me say this, please? I don't know how I'm going to work up the courage to say it if you don't."

Her eyes widen slightly and she blinked as he lowered himself to one knee. She started to speak but he took her hands in his and squeezed them once for silence. His eyes pleaded with her to hold a moment.

"I think… that now you can guess what I'm going to ask."

She does not respond, staring at him blindly.

"Will you marry me?"

***

"These are your quarters, High Priest, and yours as well, Arik," Sotet says, opening the door and stepping aside to let the two of them progress into the room. As soon as they do, he closes the door behind them swiftly, locking it.

"What the-?" Tristan begins as he surveys the room and takes in the setting of it. He glances at Arik a moment to see her passive expression and then turns to beat on the door. "What's the meaning of this!" he exclaims.

"It's no use, Tristan," Arik says quietly, stepping over to the only piece of furniture in the room and sitting down upon it, slipping her boots off.

"What do you mean, _it's no use_?" he turns on her. "Why are you being so casual about this? Don't you know what they mean by…" he waves his hand vaguely about the unfurnished room, and then looks stricken as he motions to the bed she is seated upon, "all of this!" He turns to pound again on the door, but Sotet has long since left the corridor.

"Yes, Tristan," she says in a calm voice. "I know, and I've always known. Why do you think I was so reticent in bringing you here?"

He stops pounding on the door and turns to look over his shoulder at her. "You… you knew?"

She inhales deeply and lifts one hand to the collar of her cloak, unbuttoning it and slowly slipping it off. "In your heart, you did too."

He flattens himself against the door, back pressed firmly up against the thick reinforced wood of it, grasping for a handle that doesn't exist. "Arik…"

"There is no help for it now, Tristan," she says quietly, her head lowering so that her hair falls over her face, concealing the slight flush to her cheeks. "Unless you want me to die."

"No!" he exclaims again, taking a step forward in his excitable state. "Why would they? I mean it's not you who won't…"

"It is a part of my duty." She pauses a moment, and then as if reciting she says, "Any Kathis unable to fulfill their duty must be removed from service and replaced."

A hopeless look comes to Tristan's face and he looks up at her, something forlorn in his crystal blue eyes. "Arik, I…"

Wordlessly, she spreads her cloak on the floor and kneels down upon it. "It cannot be helped, then."


	20. Nineteen Proposals

**Amoro Revidi**

Title: Proposals [Part Nineteen]  
Series: Vision of Escaflowne  
Rating: PG-13  
_A/N: Part __19, looks like I'll be getting the next couple chapters out faster. I got this one started the same day I posted the last one and it's done, so while I'm sunning myself this afternoon I'll start part 20. As for those two missing pages, eh, I don't know what happened to them, but they'll be around as we keep going. Enjoy._

***

"This is… all so fast, Jasper."

"I realize it might be, but given the current circumstances, I was afraid that if I waited any longer to ask you, it might be too late."

"Current circumstances?"

"Kira…" she inhaled as he finally dropped the 'princess' from the beginning of her name. "You must know what that attack means… someone's trying to start another war on Gaea… I don't want to risk you falling through the cracks when that happens."

She blinks her violet eyes again at him and he squeezes her hands gently. "Please don't tell me you don't care for me at all… I don't know if I could handle that."

"No, Jasper, it isn't that. It's not that I don't care anything for you, quite…" as she speaks she realizes how true it is, "quite the opposite in fact." She glances around again, looking for the stern-faced Kathis almost always in the shadows nearby, and finally catches a faint outline in the shadows. "But isn't there anyone else you would think of-"

He looks down a moment, and when he looks back up his green eyes are clouded over, "No one that I may have."

The outline, as Kira watches, turns its back and disappears deeper into the shadows down the hallway. "I accept then, Jasper."

"Come," he says, rising and clasping her hand tightly, "let me go and speak to your father then," he smiles broadly.

***

"Van…?" Hitomi asks quietly as he leads her into the courtyard of the palace. The other guests had opted to stay inside on the slightly chill evening, but the rains had stopped, and with Van so close by her side she only felt the chill lightly. He pauses as they reach the edge of the courtyard and takes off his cape, wrapping it around her shoulders with a hint of a smile.

Hitomi smiles back, enjoying the happy look on Van's usually stern or impassive visage. "What's gotten into you?" she asks as he leads her out to the central fountain and offers her a seat after brushing water and dirt from the stone.

"I just… wanted to get out of there for a little while. Is it so much to ask that I get to spend some time alone with the woman I love?"  


Hitomi finds herself blushing, and it has nothing to do with the slightly chill wind blowing in the open expanse of the courtyard. She looks up at him with wide eyes. During the journey to Palas she had told him how _she_ felt, but he had said nothing definite in regards to his own feelings, though she felt she'd always known what was inside his heart. "No," she says quietly, looking down at her hands, which she folds in her lap a little self-consciously.

"I'm sorry about how I acted in there," Van says quietly, his back partially to her, and she looks up, catching his profile against the white marble of the palace in the bright moonlight, "I just… don't like to see you treated that way."

"Van, I…"

He turns to her with a lop-sided smile, "Well that makes three words you've said since I whisked you out here."

She arches a brow and folds her arms over her chest, turning her face away from his in a huff, the cloak slipping down from her shoulders as she does so, and almost falling into the frosty cold water of the fountain. Van slides over onto the lip of the fountain next to her and lifts it, tucking it more securely around her neck. He gently lets his arm linger around her shoulders.

"Please don't be mad, I just want to hear your voice," he says in almost a whisper to her ears alone.

***

Nil moves at a quick walk through the palace, making her way outdoors, despite the cold, and finds herself in the wrong place suddenly. She pauses, fighting the tears threatening her eyes as she glances around, Jasper's words echoing in her mind as she replays them over and over, his conversation with Kira a fresh wound at the surface of her mind.

_ No one that I may have._

She leans against the wall, banging the back of her head up against it, 'Cursed Kathis, cursed, cursed Kathis and our duties. I knew this day might come, I knew how Jasper felt, feels… and yet still…'

A door opens quietly and a tall, blond haired figure steps out into the small recess in the hallway, freezing as he lays eyes on Nil. "Who are you?" the deep voice asks, blue eyes kind as he takes in her appearance.

Nil has one hand to the hilt of her sword before she realizes what she's doing, but a sharp word from the tall man stops her, "Don't."

Breathing returning to normal she recognizes the uniform the man is wearing, "I am sorry, Sir Knight, I got a little turned about. I was… on my way to the courtyard."

"You must have gotten quite turned around, this is the east wing of the palace, nowhere near the courtyard. Who are you?" Allen narrows his eyes, preparing for a confrontation with this unknown, sword-bearing young woman.

"Kathis Nileyah Calipse, currently in service to Prince Jasper of Cesario."

"Knight Caeli Allen Schezar."

The two shake hands uneasily and Allen is the first to break the silence with, "Would you like for me to escort you to the courtyard, since you are so turned about?" He glances absently over his shoulder at Celena's room, but feels frustrated at his inability to assist her.

"If you would be so kind," Nil says, looking down at her feet.

***

"How are the preparations coming?"

"They are moving along faster than expected, King Ouran," the advisor says, lifting on fist to cross his chest as he bows before speaking his next words. "The attack upon the Palas celebration was, however, unsuccessful."

"What?" he turns slightly, curly black hair moving to the side with the speed of his motion and his eyes nearly glowing with anger. "I was informed twelve had been taken."

"They were, my Lord King, but they were retrieved by a contingent…" he winces before speaking his next words, "of Kathis. Dispatched from the castle after their abduction."

Instead of taking it out on the advisor, Ouran turns to look at his window, "You may leave now," he says lowly. The advisor quickly slinks away, shutting the tall doors behind him. "Mot… your people did this… snatched my victory from me," he says to his own reflection in the glass. "But it is of no matter, once Sotet meets his father there will be no problem gaining control of you and your lofty outdated traditions." He smiles emptily at his reflection and then turns to stir the fire in the hearth, a little out of spirit after the news of his failed attack.

"I should never have used Gecko in the first place." He pauses, turning to the corner, "Isn't that right?"

As he turns slightly towards the corner, the pale, silver-haired figure lifts its head, and the corner illuminates itself with a faint, sickly greenish white glow. "That is correct, Lord Ouran."

***

Hitomi admits to herself quietly that she's very happy to hear that Van loves her back, but she feelis a twinge of doubt. 'Where do we go from here?' she asks herself as he escorts her back into the castle with a gentle hand on the small of her back. His cloak still draped across her shoulders as they greet the guards at the doors to the interior, and are informed that the gathering is breaking up as dinner will be served shortly.

"We'll be in attendance," Van says quietly to the valet that greeted them. He nods, bowing slightly, and turns to go on about his duties elsewhere.

"I'd like to freshen up if you don't mind," Hitomi says to Van, and he nods, leading her up the stairs and to their smaller suite of rooms.

As she changes in her own room, Van speaks in a falsely idle tone, "The festivities will be over in a few days, and then we'll be heading back to Fanelia."

"Oh? It seems like time's gone by so quickly since we arrived." She slips into the other gown, and one of the few attendants she'd permitted Van to have brought along for her does up the back of the gown, tying the laces snugly but not uncomfortably. It had taken some getting used to, not being able to dress herself, but she had grown somewhat accustomed to the exalted treatment she was receiving from everyone. Still, she couldn't wait to get somewhere she didn't need to have people help her put on her own clothing.

"Yes, quickly…" Van says idly. "Hitomi, have you… thought about how long you'll be staying in Fanelia, before you… go back to the Mystic Moon?"

"It's Earth, Van, and…no, I… haven't."

The two of them fall silent at that realization and the maidservant finishes the preparations of Hitomi's gown. "Thank you, Lesle," Hitomi says, taking her gloves with a smile and heading out to meet Van.

"My pleasure, m'lady."

"Well, Van, I'm ready," she says, stepping into the light of the room and offering him back his cloak.

Van looks her over and blinks, smiling as he appraises her figure in the gown, and takes the cloak back, attaching it around his shoulders and picking up his gloves before offering her his arm.

***

Mot strides out of the Council Chamber angrily, Sotet on her heels. "I'm sorry this upsets you so, Mother," he says in a quiet voice as they make it to her office. "You should be pleased to know, however, that the Ispano Priest and his Kathis have entered seclusion."

"Not pleased enough. He may care for her, but there certainly hasn't been any sign that the two of them are going to complete what must be completed. I had no wish to loose Arik because of this, but it cannot be helped, if she does not fulfill her duty."

"Mother… why do you never speak of my father?"

Mot stiffens, and whirls on her son. "Because I am forbidden to do so."

"Don't you ever question what the council forbids you to do or does not?" Sotet's eyes narrow slightly.

Mot frowns to herself, knowing this day would come, "Ceremony and tradition have gotten the Kathis through two hundred years of service, and I don't believe that now is the time to question such a matter."

Sotet eyes his mother a little distrustfully and turns to leave.

***

Xachary blinks as he is presented with the tall form of the Cesarian prince. "You… you're what?"

"I'm asking for Kira's hand in marriage."

"You're _what_?" Xachary repeats.

Jasper takes a disgruntled breath. "I'm asking for your daughter, King Xachary."

Xachary blinks again and then says, "And why should I give her to you?"

"You obviously don't want her. So why not let me take her off your hands, you can't doubt that being the queen of Cesario is a step down for a princess by election, can you?" Jasper arches a black brow and folds his arms on his chest, staring down the Basram monarch.

"You seem to understand her situation well," Xachary comments idly, adjusting his jacket. "I take it that is of little to no concern to you, Prince Jasper?"

"None," he says in a cold tone.

"Then if you can get her to accept, you have my consent as well."


	21. Twenty Dueling Moonlight

**Amoro Revidi**

Title: Dueling Moonlight [Part Twenty]  
Series: Vision of Escaflowne  
Rating: PG-13  
_A/N: Part __20. Ok, did FF.net die again or did people just stop reading? I got a couple reviews on eighteen, none on nineteen... do you guys hate what's happening with the story? Am I writing for myself again? Anyway, enjoy. I finally get you past the cliffhanger with Arik and Tristan, and you find out what happens once Nil and Allen make it to the courtyard._

***

"Getting her acceptance will be easier than getting yours, I assure you, King Xachary," Jasper says with a confident smile, turning to leave the room he had met the Basram king in to head for his own quarters.

As he steps into the hall a messenger coughs politely and gains his attention. "Dinner will be served shortly, Prince Jasper."

"I will be in attendance," he says, a little agitated that the announcement to his mother back in Cesario, but unable to avoid it, being a guest of the current festivities. The messenger bows formally and steps into the room where the Basram monarch remained after their conference, and Jasper heads off down the hall, looking in the shadows for Nil.

He sighs as he reaches his room and finds her nowhere. _She must have been listening when I proposed to Kira… I can imagine how she feels now… but there wasn't anything to be done. She is the one who taught me, after all, that the best things must be taken when they can be had and not waited upon to come to you…_ Jasper sighs as he tidies up his outfit and straightens the half-cape on his shoulders. He glances at himself in a mirror before stepping out of the room.

Black hair hanging just down into his green eyes, a slim circlet on his head to show his status, Jasper reasons that he looks as well as he can, and then steps out of the room, heading off towards the dining hall.

***

"Here we are then," Allen says formally, stepping aside to let Nil into the courtyard. She passes him, slowly, making her way into the courtyard with red-rimmed eyes, and a messenger passing through stops before Allen to inform him of the impending supper.

Nil does not comment as Allen sends him along on his way.

"Shouldn't you head there as well?"

Still she remains silent, stepping over to the fountain and glancing down at her reflection in the chilled waters.

"Nileyah?" Allen steps over to her and puts a hand lightly on her shoulder.

"I will attend," she says quietly, almost too quietly to be heard. Allen tightens his grip slightly, stepping up to look at the water with her. "I said," she begins again, louder, "that I will attend."

"Good," Allen says, pausing for a moment. "Then you will have to dine with me." After saying his part he lets go of her shoulder and steps back.

"I will do nothing of the sort. I am not hungry."

Allen stops in his retreat from the courtyard and glances over his shoulder, "And being malnourished will do you no good. If it's my company you refuse to eat in, eat with someone else, but eat something."

"No," she says quietly, turning her gaze up to the stars.

Allen turns, frustrated at the signs he sees in her. Depression, most likely, and definitely heart sick, as he had once seen Van when a certain sandy haired young woman left for her home without really saying goodbye. "You," his voice is cold, commanding, "will eat."

"I," she turns her head to glance at him over the shoulder, "will not."

The two of them stare at one another, a silent battle of wills as they face off in the chill air of the courtyard. "You will," Allen says after a long moment of silence.

"Not," she adds, turning to face him.

"This discussion is over. You are eating."

"I am neither your child, your wife," she adds the last as though an epithet, "or your _sister_, Knight Caeli _Allen Schezar_. And you cannot treat me as though I am any of those things. I have a job to do and I will do it."

Allen draws his sword, infinite patience, for once, gotten the better of. "Draw your sword."

***

Kira glances out her window silently, until she sees the two figures enter the courtyard. One tall, long blond hair drawn back over his shoulders, but loose down his back, the other much shorter with straight black hair.

"Nileyah?" she asks the empty room around her quietly.

Jasper had come to inform her of their impending marriage in a much more final state half an hour before, and she had smiled and he had hugged her impulsively, as though he could think of no better news in the entire world that would have come about. She had silently wondered if it wouldn't have been better that she refused him and left Nil her beloved prince.

A few moments afterwards, just as the messenger to her wing had come to inform her of dinner, she had stopped that train of thought entirely, knowing it would do her no good to think of Jasper as Nil's prince, now that she was probably irrevocably engaged to him, and would soon be his wife, and the future queen of Cesario. Nil would be…

What would Nil be?

It was these thoughts that lead her to sit near her window instead of getting herself ready, calling for her personal servant to bring her a fresh gown, and heading off down to the banquet hall. She had idly noticed when King Van and Lady Hitomi had entered, but had politely ignored their exchange, it being none of her business what the two of them did with one another in private.

But as Nil and what looked to her to be the Knight Caeli Allen Schezar enter, she sits up and takes notice. _What are the two of them about?_ she thought to herself.

The words did not echo up to her third floor room well enough to make out, but one phrase leapt up to her, as clearly as the singing noise of polished metal sliding from a hilt. The noise was something that, of late, she had heard far too much of, and the words made her freeze in her tracks. _Draw your sword._

She was up and heading quickly down to the courtyard the instant she saw Nil turn to face the Knight with his sword drawn, all worries over her own appearance and dinner far from her mind, the only thought that, _This should not happen!_

***

"Why must you?" Tristan asks quietly as Arik spreads herself across her cloak on the floor. "I just don't understand."

"It is the duty of the Kathis," she replies, voice tender and yet empty, as though reciting something by rote to a small child, "in times of peril, to secure the line of the throne."

"I just don't think that's right to force someone to do," Tristan replied, sitting, finally, on the bed, which he finds is very soft, despite the look of its construction.

Very quietly, Arik responds, "In this case… it isn't entirely forced."

"What?" Tristan looks up quickly, scanning her blank face, trying to force her to open her closed eyes by will of looking at the lids intensely.

"If you did not hear then you did not wish to, there are only the two of us in this room, and it does not echo," she says in a louder voice. "Deny what you want, I'm too weary to keep up pretenses any longer."

"Arik?" he stutters, shock and disbelief evident in his voice.

"You've known me for more than fifteen years, Tristan, get over it, and go to sleep," she says, turning on her side, face to the wall instead of towards him. _If I am going to cry tonight, I won't have him see tears on my face._

"No."

"Go-to-sleep, Tristan."

"No," he repeats, voice firmer.

"Then I will," she says with a faint shrug.

"You will **not**. Neither of us will. Not if it means when we wake up you're going to be killed."

"As I said before, there's no help for it."

"There is," he begins, voice faint again, "one at least."

Her back stiffens and she glances over her shoulder at him.

Wordlessly, Tristan kneels next to her, one hand gently touching her shoulder. His fingers faintly trace it down to the elbow and then back up, hesitantly. "If we… were to," he speaks slowly, as though thinking it out, "just once, to try, would that be enough to buy us some time?"

Arik nods slowly, taking his hand and allowing him to help her to her feet. The two stare awkwardly at one another and then she leads him silently to the bed where she sits down and begins to loosen the rest of her clothing.

Tristan watches wordlessly as she disrobes and then sits beside her. "It isn't forced," he says quietly.

***

Mot stands silently in the room as Sotet goes about packing his things for his journey. His clothing first, then his armor.

***

Slowly, Nil draws her sword, brown eyes cold as she stares straight at Allen. The noise of the blade against the metal ring at the opening of the sheath a familiar, comforting sound in her ears.

"You should not have said that about my sister," Allen says quietly.

"Stop talking and begin!" Nil says, falling into a defensive stance.

Steps on the stair as she moves quickly, wanting nothing more than to avoid a confrontation between the two fierce guardians. Kira curses her frailties and pauses on a landing to gather her breath, leaning against the balustrade.

***

"I am sorry I have to go, mother," Sotet says quietly as he closes the bag with his clothing inside, tying off the knots firmly and securing his long knife and bo to the outside of it.

"When you return we will speak of this," Mot replies, still glancing out the window and not at him. "Now is not the time."

"Now is the time!" Sotet exclaims, deep voice booming in the near-empty room. "We do no know when I shall return again, why, then do you say now is not the time? Why is it never the time, mother!"

***

Clang!

The whistle of two blades through the cold air resounds in the courtyard. "You'll be late for your meal, _Knight Caeli_!" Nil says tauntingly, satisfied to see the frustrated look on Allen's face as she blocks another of his blows directed to disarm her, and then another.

***

She turns mournful dark eyes on her son and says, "Because of duty, Sotet. Remember that, if nothing else, duty. We may not be up-to-date in our traditions, or our ceremonies, but even if you cannot believe in them, believe in the duty we have, to the world."

"I'm leaving you and still all you can speak to me of is duty and the world?"

***

Allen lets out a furious roar and lunges, not aiming to disarm any longer. The stress of the last few days, the possible relapse of Celena into Dilandu, the Gecko attack… Chid and Exeter in such danger…

***

Mot holds out a hand, palm up, to her son, the tattoos swirling down the inside of her forearm that pool in her palm catching the light filtering in the window and standing out at a great contrast to her pale skin. Sotet, unsurely, steps over, within touching distance.

Slowly, Mot places her hand on his cheek. "Once, that is all you were to me… another part of duty. Now, you are my beloved son. I only pray you can forgive me for not knowing how to be a better mother to you. They train us in battle and so many things, but never for motherhood."

***

Not expecting the impromptu spar to turn ugly and so real, Nil deflects the blow, but at a price. The blade cuts her along her left arm, and her blade lodges in the hilt of his sword. As she takes a quick step backwards, both swords clatter to the ground, Allen still moving forward towards her.

Once again moving, she finds herself at the doors of the courtyard, and through the frosted glass she can see the first blood drawn in the spar, by Allen. For a horrified moment she watches the two swords go flying from the duelists' hands, splashing straight into the fountain. She shoves her way through the door and into the courtyard as soon as she sees that Allen is still moving.

***

Sotet's anger softens slowly as he listens to her, and he steps closer, putting his arms around his mother. "Of course I forgive you, mother, and I love you."

***

Bleeding, and with Allen's greater mass pressing her into the lip of the fountain, Nil struggles to maintain consciousness amidst the chill of the world and the draining feeling from her left arm.

"Take it back!" Allen exclaims, no longer using the deep, mature tone he usually speaks in. Instead, his voice is mid-ranged, and very child-like.

Nil glares up at Allen, frustrated, and struggles slightly, but is still unable to get him to let go.

"What are the two of you doing!" a clear voice rings out in the air over the panting breath of the two of them.

"Stay back, Princess," Nil says loudly.

Allen draws back, blinking, and looks around him. The sudden outburst was so unlike him that he simply has no words, and Nil dislodges him from his crouch over her with a simple twist of her hips, sending him straight into the fountain.

Kira stares evenly at Nil, hair still matted, dress watermarked, with the blanket hanging haphazardly around her. "What is the meaning of this?" she demands, summoning up all the royal glamour she can possibly muster in the situation.

"Ask," Nil turns, plunging her left, scraped arm into the fountain to retrieve her sword, "the Knight."

Kira turns on Allen, who stands gracefully, retrieving his own sword, and steps out of the fountain, leaving the courtyard without a word. Kira starts to stop him, but Nil, drying her sword on her clothing, puts a hand on her arm and pushes her back towards the door. "Go inside. Change, get to dinner. Nothing happened here."

Kira blinks her violet eyes uncomprehending at Nil, the slightly shorter, brown eyed woman suddenly frightening in her intensity, the lilt usually present in her voice gone, her brown eyes almost on fire and looking slightly red. Kira takes first one step backwards, and then another before turning and leaving the courtyard, heading back up the way she came.

With a silent sigh, Nil lowers her head, staring at the ground. She wipes her eyes once, and then turns to re-enter the castle herself.

She freezes as she does so, and a bit of her own façade falls off, brown eyes turning amber for a moment. "Y-you…"

The impression of the figure standing before her nods once, silver hair tumbling down over it's shoulders, body glowing faintly greenish-white.

"What're you-"

"Sleep," the figure says, and Nil nods, slumping into the corner of the doorway.

***

At dinner, Hitomi glances up as several people enter late. First Allen and then Kira, puzzled, she glances next to her at Van, but he shrugs slightly, hand in hers making a similar gesture under the table.

Hitomi smiles politely at the Egzardian queen, "Sorry, I got distracted, what was that?"

"I was just commenting," the slightly older woman says with a little annoyance obvious in her voice, "how nice it is to see a young lady such as yourself at one of these gatherings. Usually they are dreadfully boring and you only see the usual string of monarchs." She turns to Van, "It is also a delight to see the King of Fanelia among his peers, finally."

Van smiles tolerantly, but Hitomi can feel the tension in his muscles as he does so, and so she smiles, "Well Van offered to come and escort me, so that I could see everyone I knew when I was last on Gaea."

"Ah yes," Xachary speaks up, "You are from the Mystic Moon… what is it you like to call your planet?"

"Earth," she says with a faint smile and an inward sigh. She disliked the devouring glances the Basram monarch tended to favor her with. As though he were sizing her up for some reason.


	22. TwentyOne Coronation

**Amoro Revidi**

Title: Coronation [Part Twenty-One]  
Series: Vision of Escaflowne  
Rating: PG-13  
_A/N: And this, friends and neighbors, is when the chapters start getting long again. We're finally getting out of Asturia and so the parts will either be longer with more focus per area/set of characters, or shorter and not as segmented as they have been. I haven't quite decided which to do. We're also almost done with this story. No, I know what you're thinking as you read this, the plot won't get concluded by chapter 30, but this is sort of a 2 or 3 part thing. Part One had certain goals, and I'm very close to achieving them. So I may take a little break after chapter 30 to catch my breath, and then we'll be knee deep in the second part, which will most likely start at chapter 31._

***

The festivities began to wind down soon after the fateful duel and dinner afterwards, and concluded without further attack by anyone, though Kathis Calipse and Knight Caeli Schezar were never closer than ten feet from one another throughout the end of Jasper's stay in Austuria.

Whatever had kept the king of Fanelia from sleeping, and brought Hitomi to his door went unnoticed by the rest of assemblage in Palas, and since she couldn't explain exactly what was wrong, Van quietly suggested to her that until she could, they not alarm their fellow party-goers unneccessarily. Whether it was his quiet suggestion or the warm arms that encircled her during that quiet suggestion that convinced Hitomi to go along with Van's idea was later hard for even her to establish later on.

Jasper, newly betrothed, foung that he couldn't keep his thoughts on the festivities, and though for a while he was able to focus on the thoughts of his upcoming wedding in Cesario and his fiance, he couldn't bring himself to get over one thing.

Though he knew Kira would make an excellent queen for the country, mother to his children, and focusing point with his mother's decline...

... Nileyah wasn't going anywhere.

And she was always present.

***

"So your things are nearly packed, Prince Jasper?" she asks him in a quiet manner from her post near his doorway as he looks out the window at the long patio where the coronation would shortly be held.

He nods wordlessly.

"Are you certain? We will depart directly after the coronation, be sure not to leave anything behind."

"I am aware," he says quickly, the phrase cracking like the snap of a whip through the still, placid air of the suite, and he instantly regrets his shortness with her. _After all, she didn't get me into this mess,_ he reasons with himself.

"If Your Highness is most certain, I will see to my own things," she bows stiffly and turns on her heel in the crispest of military maneuvers, striding purposefully from the room.

Jasper hangs his head and looks down at his ungloved hands on the windowsill, the ring on his left hand mildly disturbing to him against the unadorned stone, and the further lack of jewelry on his person. A knock on the door brings his attention back to the moment.

"Enter."

_ Come to think of it, Nil's been acting a little oddly since I proposed to Kira... but she didn't-_

"Jasper, are you in here?"

_ Think of the devil._

***

In the hallway on his way to attend the closing festivities, Allen freezes in his tracks to see her moving at a quick pace in the opposite direction. For a moment she looks up and sees him, her brown eyes flashing angrily.

"Oh, I-" Allen begins, trying to think of a graceful way to apologize for his behavior that evening, but as soon as he opens his mouth, it seems, she turns her eyes away from his and steps past, unspeaking.

Puzzled, Allen turns and continues to speak, "I wanted to apologize for my behavior..."

Her voice, not sounding quite the same as he brokenly remembers it from that evening, grinds out a terse and tense, "Apology accepted," before she starts forward once more, disregarding whatever words he might have said in addition.

_ And I alone share the blame? You may have been broken up over something, Kathis, but that does not excuse goading someone into a fight..._

Allen starts to follow after her, wherever she is going, but hears the trumpets outside begin to call the Knights Caeli and the troops in to formation, and frowns as he continues on his own way.

***

"So what do you think of the set up?" Hitomi asks Van as he leads her forward to her seat next to his in the shaded booth of the grand stand.

Van does not, at first, respond to the query, eyes seeking out and examining the security for the event - the posting of the guards and the gates in the arena.

"Van?"

"Hmm?" he responds absently as she queries him, until Hitomi reaches over a few inches and lays her hand on his forearm.

"Van, look at me?"

He turns puzzled crimson eyes on her and his anxious expression softens as his eyes meet her jade green ones. "I'm sorry, Hitomi."

"What are you so engrossed in?" she asks with casual interest.

"It's nothing..." he begins, but seeing the slight narrowing of her eyes he leans a little closer, glancing around momentarily, and says, "But this would be the perfect time to attack Asturia, everyone is gathered in one place. And since..."

"Not here," she says with a forced smile, hoping against hope that she can simply will the unpleasant fortune out of existence. "Nothing will happen at Exeter's crowning..."

Van eyes Hitomi a little suspiciously and then, covertly, moves his arm to take her hand in his own. "I pray you are right."

***

Millerna smiles at her reflection in the mirror, preparing to start down to the coronation when a quiet knock comes to her dressing room door. "Come in," she says in a pleasant voice.

A chilling rush enters the room as the door opens, and Millerna sees the tall form in the mirror for an instant before she turns to regard the towering figure in person. The dark hood shrouds his face from view and she opens her mouth to scream, but he is upon her before she can get out a single piercing breath into the air.

"I would not do such things if I were you, Queen Millerna."

Terrified at the tall, lanky figure, Millerna shakes her head, fearfully aware of the strong hand clamping down on her mouth hard enough to bruise her cheeks.

"Now, come along quietly and no one has to be hurt."

***

Chid stands next to Exeter, who fidgets slightly in the stuffy, traditional garb of Asturia. He smiles pleasantly, remembering his own coronation not so long ago, both of them. First to Crown Prince Chid of Freid, and then into his Dukedom. With a slight frown he stops the boys hands from fidgeting with the stiffly starched linens and thick brocade, glancing up into the sky for some hint of help from the sun to warm them on the chill morning. He finds none, the chill winter breezes sweeping mercilessly through the arena, as the stands fill up.

Dryden stands just beyond Exeter, if anything, more fidgety than his son. "Uncle Dryden... what's wrong?"

"Millerna should be down by now."

Chid smiles. "Aunt Millerna is a woman of exceptional taste, Uncle, she is probably adjusting her gowns for her grand entrance. This is a very important day in her life... and yours."

Dryden blinks and glances down at Chid with new eyes, feeling, yet again, that the wisdom in his nephew's immature form is beyond his years, and wondering if it was from Marlene or Allen that he inherited that bit of himself. He quickly shakes off the thoughts as Chid gives him a puzzling look with his crystal blue eyes, so familiar to Allen's own, and Dryden wonders how much longer it will be before someone notices that the shade of hair and the twinkling blue eyes are not exactly the shade native to the Asturian royal family, but are near exact replicas of the features common to both Schezar siblings.

Certainly, he reasons, it will not take long for that state secret to become common knowledge. And as he thinks these words, the stands seem to finish filling up, and the trumpeters announce the Queen's entrance from the side of the arena.

His first thought is of how beautiful she looks in the veiled garment with long flowing sleeves, her older sister Eries following demurely behind her.

The second, as she stops across from him and their eyes meet, only for an instant, is that _those are not Millerna's eyes!_

Before he can say a word, however, the not-quite-right blue flashes a moment and then adjusts to the proper color, Dryden, stupified for various reasons, extends a hand mechanically which the not-quite-right Queen of Asturia takes and the two turn to face the seating of the other royals, and bow formally.

***

"Well that certainly was an impressive coronation," the Egzardian queen comments as the arena stands empty out and the monarchs wait for their own escorts to take them to either their suites or their means of transportation homewards.

"Certainly something worthy of Palas' reputation," another speaks up as the first group of guards shows up to escort them away.

"What did you think, Lady Hitomi?" Xachary asks, turning to the young woman seated to the Fanelian king's left.

"Lady Hitomi?"

She still does not respond, and Van touches her hand on his arm and squeezes it gently. "Pardon me, what was that?"

"I was asking about your views on the coronation, but the ceremony obviously didn't impress you so much if you can be so easily distracted, it seems, by the commoners."

Hitomi would very much like to scowl and retort to the Basram monarch, but Van's hand covering her own reminds her that even though she would very much like to, it would cause the condescending monarchs to look down even more on Van and Fanelia for bringing such an "unmannered" guest to the festivities, and so she smiles pleasantly and says, "You must remember, King Xachary, that on my planet, I am one of those commoners you speak so disdainfully of," her comment wins a few disdainful looks in Xachary's direction, and Van smiles proudly at her, winking once as he catches her eye.

"Alright, well what _did_ you think of the coronation then, Lady Hitomi?"

"I thought that it went well," Hitomi begins, half afraid her true thoughts are written across her face as she speaks, "Queen Millerna looked as beautiful as ever, and the ceremony went seamlessly. I've not been a party to many such coronations, but I did greatly enjoy this one."

_ Now if only I could get over the sinking feeling that that wasn't Millerna… Dryden paused and then seemed so… forced after he started moving again._

"Well I'd love to stay and allow you all to cross-examine the Lady Hitomi all day," Van says with a wry grin, "but we've got to get on our way, Fanelia is far from here."

Several murmurs of approval and several others of intermediate opinion go through the small assembly of monarchs, and Van rises, helping Hitomi to her feet.

"Certainly you won't keep the charming young woman all to yourself from now on, Fanelia?" the King of Daedelus asks with a twinkle in his eye.

"That, my fellow King, is entirely up to her. If you all will excuse us, we've got a journey to prepare for." Van turns and leads Hitomi from the shaded platform into the hall where several Asturian royal guards headed by Allen Schezar.

"So, Hitomi, I trust your stay in Palas has been blissfully uneventful?" Allen asks offhandedly as he leads Van and Hitomi down to where the rest of the Fanelian party awaits them to board the ship that will take them on the first leg of their journey back to their country.

"Quite," she responds warmly, "I can hardly believe it's over already."

Allen, distracted, doesn't comment further on her response, but smiles back, drawing the guard up to attention on either side of the gangplank to the ship as the other nobles from Fanelia board the ship, and he is surprised when Hitomi gives him a chaste, brief hug before accepting Van's steadying hand as she boards the ship.

"Take care, Allen," Hitomi says with a wistful smile, "I hope Celena feels better soon."

Allen nods politely to Hitomi and then again, stiffer, to Van as he gives his own parting salutations to the Knight Caeli. As soon as the ship has made a decent distance into the harbor, Allen turns and heads back to his sister, to see how she is doing. Hitomi's words having reminded him of her current frame of mind.

Ever since the duel-spar in the courtyard, Allen found himself much more distracted from his duties and forgetful of his sister. Something about Nileyah's attitude, her style… had been off since that evening. And after his attempt at an apology failed, he found himself annoyed at her very shortly impending absence from Asturia.

_ Something isn't right with her,_ he reasons to himself.

***

Kira climbs into the carriage with the assistance of Jasper's hand, and then Jasper follows her into the sturdy contraption bound for Cesario, and her new future. She glances out the window to see her father standing with stern pride at the edge of the gates, and from the corner of her eye she sees Nil mounting her horse and moving into position to accompany the carriage on its way.

"Move out!" Nil orders the driver in a stern tone, and the carriage starts to move forward, slowly at first as the horses gain their footing on the cobbles of the road, and then quicker, and Kira watches as her father's powerful figure fades from view.

"Afraid to see him go, after so much time?" Jasper asks quietly, green eyes peering at her from under his black bangs.

"It… will be different, not having him ruling over me from just over my shoulder. I feel as though he is still there…"

Jasper leans forward and takes her hands in his. "He isn't," Jasper assures her tenderly, "and he won't be in Cesario."

She smiles, "No, instead it will be your mother."

Jasper laughs slightly, "My mother is nothing like your father… and she rarely leaves the castle."

"And you expect me to?"

"Well a queen certainly must know her people. And as my companion, I expect you to accompany me when I leave the castle."

Kira smiles, remembering for the first time in a while the happy days of her childhood, before her father had been elected King of Basram, and had only been a very important senator and council member. Back when her own mother was still alive and well and would play with her and her sisters.

She blinks, pausing.

"Kira? Darling?" Jasper asks, concerned.

"Will I… be able to send out a letter or two… once we get to your country?"

"_Our_ country," Jasper corrects, "and most assuredly. Who will you write to?"

"My sisters."

***

Tristan storms his way back into the small room, having just come from a meeting with the Bikathian Council. He does not glance back at the door, as he knows that his escort will have closed and locked it from the outside, but he feels Arik's soothing presence at his back.

"I can't believe these people! What is it that they want from me? From you!"

"Tristan," she says in a maternally soothing voice, "it is the way things are, and always have been. I am only sorry that I did not mention these things to you before, but I did not believe, despite the circumstances in Ispano, that this would be required of you."

He turns to face her, seeing her familiar face softened with kindness, and it almost sickens him, "Arik, what? Did you, then, expect that you would still be required some day to-"

"What I am required to do is of little consequence to your duty. Now, tell me what they said to you."

Tristan, disturbed by Arik's dismissal of something he can hardly stomach to think about, sits down on the bed and runs his fingers through his hair, "I managed to talk them into only making us try once a week… other than that, you're not required to train, merely to accompany me wherever I go…"

"Like I always have."

Tristan ponders that thought, looking up at her, "True," he says, his expression clearing slightly, "just as you always have."


	23. TwentyTwo Missing Queen Asturia

**Amoro Revidi**

Title: Missing Queen - Asturia [Part Twenty-Two]  
Series: Vision of Escaflowne  
Rating: PG-13  
_A/N: Chapter 22, done while in the middle of the tech week from heck. Hope you guys enjoy it! Check the end of the chapter for a response to reviews! As for the reason this one's got Asturia in the title, it's because most of the action does take place in Asturia this chapter, with a little blurb to explain something brought up in a review about Hitomi and Van. I'll try to make sure that I keep them in every chapter, however small, even when the chapter focuses on other countries and characters._

***

Allen paces his sister's room in a preoccupied manner, his thoughts grim and distracted, bordering on agitation, something Celena rarely sees so openly written across her brother's face, and so she makes the effort to sit up in bed.

"Brother… what's troubling you?"

"Nothing," Allen responds in a gruff voice.

"Lying doesn't suit you, brother, and you've never done it very well."

Allen pauses, facing his sister's temporary window which overlooks the courtyard leading to the ballroom and also the throne room, his thoughts suddenly a panic. Had Celena seen the duel-spar? Would she already know what was preoccupying his time so?

He glances over at her.

No, he decides, Celena cannot possibly have so much knowledge of him hidden deeper than her eyes can show, he turns to glance back out the window and sees a commotion.

He moves to open the window when the cries of alarm and panic start inside the castle, in the hall just outside Celena's room.

"Queen Millerna is missing!"

***

"So how long until we're back in Fanelia?" Hitomi asks Van, peering out the window of her cabin in the ship.

"A day or so by ship and then it's another half a day's ride into the capital." Van reclines in a chair and toys with his gloves, glad finally to be out of the formal attire he had to parade himself in for the celebration in Palas. "You know… I meant what I said."

Hitomi freezes, glancing at Van from the corner of her eye and then claps her hands as a dolphin-like creature leaps out of the water just outside of the window. "Hitomi…" he cuts himself off with a sigh, seeing that she has no intention of bothering with the subject at the moment, he lets his eyes drift closed slightly as he imagines what will happen in Fanelia once she's gone back to Earth.

Hitomi turns to regard Van, his body slumped in the chair, his brow furrowed slightly with a preoccupied tension to it. She sighs silently to herself, and turns back to the window, staring out at the frolicking creature in the water. _If only I was a part of this world, like you,_ she thinks to herself, drawing a step away from the window and turning to kneel at Van's side. Carefully, gently, she leans her head down on his leg, and without opening his eyes, he slips one glove off and strokes her hair gently.

***

Chid finds himself caught in Asturia, in the commotion. His escort is delayed in aiding his uncle's men to search for Millerna, and he has no other safe means of transit back to Freid. Quietly, he wanders the halls where his aunt was last seen. They were the first area covered in searching for her, and so are vacant of soldiers and knights and his own guards.

An eerie silence seems to seep through the floor and into the air. A single door opens slowly and a cautious head peeks out, wearing the platinum blond hair and azure blue eyes of Celena Schezar. She starts as she sees him and begins to retract herself into her room.

"Lady Celena!" Chid calls out, quickening his step to reach her. He knows little of Allen's sister, in the past six years he was far too busy dealing with the troubles of Freid to pay social calls to Asturia in order to visit his friends and relations, but, he figures, some company in the castle turned prison is better than none, and it will be a change to speak with her, at least.

"I am sorry to have interrupted you, Duke Chid," Celena says, her head slightly bowed as she pauses, motionless in the doorway, hands clasped in front of her.

Chid blinks, not having known the woman, he had never seen such poise in her, never known her at her stillest. He had often seen her treading slightly in Allen's shadow during his visits, or perhaps in windows when he himself would pass by, but had never gotten the chance to inspect what sort of woman claimed to be the sister of the famous Allen Schezar, Knight Caeli and master swordsman of Asturia.

"It was no interruption, my lady," Chid says with a kind smile, hoping to quell her apparent fears of him. "I am taking a walk… would you like to accompany me?"

Celena sneaks a glance up at Chid and freezes, if possible, going stiller than she stood before at the sight of him. For a moment her mind is blank, and then a whispering voice in the back of her mind speaks up, a fury of thought accompanying it, _Why, he looks just like brother!_

Chid smiles at Celena and offers his arm to her, which, almost numbly, she takes, and the two of them continue on down the hallway. "I bet the courtyard will be clear of scrutiny by now."

"Clear of…?" Celena begins, not quite sure what there is to scrutinize about the two of them walking.

"Oh, please don't mistake my intentions, Lady Celena. I just figured that if you were frightened by me, the sight of soldiers and knights searching so ardently for the Queen might distress you even more."

"You are most kind and considerate, Duke Chid."

"Please, call me Chid," he responds, glancing up the few inches to look into eyes that seem, at once, entirely too familiar to him. Chid cannot put his finger on it, but the Celena's eyes seem altogether comforting and disturbing.

"As you wish… Chid."

*

The search for the Queen in the palace took four days to complete, and the entire city seemed to be holding its breath. After the four days, the guard and the military moved on to searching the homes and buildings in the city. It was another three weeks to complete the search there, but the citizens were helpful, rather than chafing. It appears, remarked Dryden sourly one day to his uncomprehending son, that the people of Asturia know and love their queen as much as we. Exeter merely smiled at his father and climbed into his lap, embracing the much larger man precariously, as though he could sense some need for comfort in his father.

It was not for a week after that, a month after her disappearance, that the first news of her found its way into the capital. The news caught Celena and Chid by surprise, in the courtyard, as they were taking a walk in the sunshine, and the bearer of the news to them looked very displeased with the scene he saw.

*

"In case either of the two of you care," Allen begins, a stiffness in his voice. Chid gives Allen a sharp look, reminding him of his position, and motioning slightly with his head to Celena at his side. Allen blinks and begins again, "Word has come of the Queen…"

"Aunt Millerna?" Chid replies, taking a step towards Allen hopefully.

"She was taken hostage in the name of the King of Norte."

Chid steps away from the two Schezar siblings, head slightly bowed and muttering to himself about the recent news he's heard from the reclusive country. It seems to Chid rather fitting, that Norte would be behind his aunt's disappearance, and most likely the attack on the castle, since the newly crowned king had most firmly declined the invitation to the festivities honoring Asturia.

"If you'll both excuse me, I need to go speak to my uncle," Chid says to the siblings quietly, turning and walking off in the direction of the depressed king's library.

Allen watches Chid walk off, a serious and determined expression on his face, and for a moment, pride swells in his chest at the thought of his son's progression towards manhood. The look in Chid's eyes, the reproach, reminds him of how Marlene could look at someone and stop them in their tracks, and for that he is glad. So preoccupied is he with his inner musings that Celena has to repeat her question twice.

"So, brother, does this mean that we're at war?"

Allen nods slowly, "At this point, not physically, but politically, this was an act of war on the part of Norte."

Celena nods in return, her gaze following the young Duke of Freid's pathway for a moment, and then returning to glance at her brother from the corner of her eye. She compares the two in her mind and then frowns slightly, deciding to spend her time alone for a while.

Chid's attentions to Celena, at first, had been absentminded, of a sort. The two of them were lonely in a castle, a country, full of purposeful people. Everyone who could help was searching for the queen, and it seemed that the nephew-Duke and the knight's younger sister were the only two that could do nothing to aid the search. On the contrary, the two of them seemed to hinder the efforts of whatever group they were assigned to, until eventually, they had both simply stopped appealing to help the search efforts and stuck to the castle, and each other.

Over the few weeks, Chid had grown enchanted by Celena's silent and slightly mysterious aura. She spoke about pleasant things, and was able to answer for herself when he asked her about philosophy or politics, but he could tell that her heart wasn't in those things. She enjoyed gardens, and flowers, and sunlight. Occasionally he would chance upon her reading a novella or a book of poetry, and it made the fifteen-year-old duke smile to see her flush when he inquired after what she was reading.

Allen had never happened upon the two of them when they were together before, his own efforts in the search greatly helping to cover ground which might otherwise have taken months to scour in the search for the missing queen.

*

Chid enters the library quietly, straightening his shoulders and setting his mind to the task of rousing his uncle. Over the past month he has fallen more and more in on himself, the only ones able to come close to him were Exeter, Chid, and, surprisingly, Celena. The silent sister had been almost as much a companion to the king as his son, and more than his nephew, who had to deal with running the Duchy from afar in his absence, Dryden's library accounting for all of her reading material.

"Uncle Dryden," Chid calls, his voice empty of emotion. It is impossible, before seeing his uncle, to tell his mood, and some of his moods in the past four weeks, were cruel and cutting. Any sign of weakness in gesture or vocal tone were pounced upon and used as fodder to repel the person encroaching on his solitude. So Chid stands in the doorway to the dimly lit library and lets his eyes adjust to the darkness before he steps into the room and searches the rows and rows of stacks, looking for his uncle.

"They've asked to call Eries back from the convent," Dryden says, voice weak, body slumped in his high chair. His reading glasses are strewn on the floor next to one of the side doors, with a book lying on top of them.

Chid assesses the situation quickly. "Who asked this, Uncle?"

"The council of advisors."

Chid nods slowly, moving to retrieve the slightly cracked glasses and the book, and setting them on the corner of the platform where the chair is seated, movements slow and gentle. "Did they say why?"

"Apparently," Dryden tips his head back, and Chid can smell the alcohol on the man's breath from his position at the corner of the platform, "I'm in no state to rule."

"They are exactly right, Uncle," Chid says quietly. "Have you heard the news?"

"Have I heard anything but what you tell me for the past…"

"Month."

Dryden's face looses its color. "No… certainly it hasn't been… that long…"

"It has. And word has come that Aunt Millerna was kidnapped."

Dryden's face goes slack, as though he has just seen his entire world crumble before his eyes, and Chid sighs, daringly mounting the steps up to the platform to look his uncle in the eye. "Uncle Dryden, what did you say to the advisors about calling Aunt Eries back from the convent?"

"I… didn't."

Chid narrows his blue eyes and thinks quickly, "Let them call her back."

"Yes," Dryden responds in a vacant voice. Chid hands him paper and he scrawls out the message. "Call her, she'll know just what to do."

Chid cringes inwardly at himself for using his uncle's weakest moment against him in this manner, but for the love of his kidnapped aunt, and his nephew, Chid feels responsibility to the family to keep the country from ruin, and it is obvious that Dryden is in no state to protect his son's future. He hands his uncle wax and waits as the broken down King of Asturia puts his seal on the note.

"Uncle Dryden, you should get some rest. Exeter has been looking to play with you for the past couple days, but he's afraid of the dark in here." Chid's heart catches in his throat, remembering his own childhood, devoid of such a loving father as Dryden Fassa, trapped up in the need to learn protocol and duty and honor instead of being allowed to run and play as other children. He had grown up, as Hitomi remarked once during the festivities, far beyond his time. Dryden nods his head and stands on shaky legs, taking the support of the arm Chid offers him to help him down from the platform and out towards his rooms.

Once his uncle is safely deposited, Chid turns to go and find Allen, the note Dryden signed tucked firmly in his inner vest pocket.

*

Requesting Eries' return from the convent was the first order of business the council of advisors did, and Allen was dispatched from Palas to collect the oldest Aston princess from her cloister as quickly as he can. Allen and the crew of the _Crusade_ begin their journey at once, with well wishes from both Chid and Celena, who see them off from the air-ship docking above the city.

*

The inland city of Thera, so named after the late queen Therese Aston, mother to the current queen and daughter Eries as well, is high enough to be sufficiently warm year round that there is no possibility of the ladies in the convent falling ill due to rain or cold weather, and also high enough to catch some of the sea air that travels even the four day journey from Palas and the seaport cities to the mountainy town. Allen's journey takes him two days, going overland with a strong wind in the sails of the _Crusade_, and as he disembarks, he is met by the Mother Superior of the convent.

"A Knight Caeli sent to collect a princess… how fitting, especially for one having taken up this lifestyle," the Mother Superior says.

"Allen Schezar, at your service," Allen bows deeply, his formal uniform stretching despite the pounds of starch and ironing that went into its cleanup for the retrieval assignment.

"Ah, and no less than the best swordsman of the country, a pleasure to meet you, Sir Schezar," the aged woman says with a delighted smile. "But of course I am not the reason you have come. Princess Eries," the Mother Superior says, "is awaiting you in the garden, and saying her farewells to the sisters here. If you will leave your weapons and follow me, I will show you to her."

*

Allen tries not to wince at the noise of his boots in the halls of the convent, which have high vaulted ceilings and beautiful stained glass windows. The convent, he believes he remembers correctly, was built before the castle in Palas, and it's design shows it. Groined vaults above him, crenellated roof embankments, gargoyles, bell towers… the Tuloom Convent is a masterpiece of Asturian architecture. The noises within, however, echo so much as to make one uncomfortable.

Allen remembers, vaguely, having been in the convent as a child, when his mother had come to visit and pray with the sisters for the safe return of Leon. It had proved in vain, however, the weeks she spent at the convent, and, sadly, Allen also remembers that it was in the fields above the convent where Celena had disappeared.

As he steps into the garden, his eyes are slow to adjust to the renewed, unfiltered sunlight, but he can easily make out the erect and commanding figure of the princess, if not her face, standing amidst the gray clothed figures of the sisters of Tuloom. As his eyes finally adjust to the sunlight, he does his best not to stare.

Eries had retired herself to the Tuloom Convent a year after Dryden and Millerna had remarried, just after the announcement that Millerna was pregnant. Allen had silently approved of Eries' decision, but sighed to himself, knowing that he would miss her company. After the last war, when Eries realized Allen had no intention of pursuing Millerna and ruining her sister's chance at happiness, an easy but formal camaraderie had grown between the older princess and the head of the Knights Caeli. Allen had felt proud, however that she had chosen him to see her to the convent, and a little prouder that he would be the last person from Palas to see her dressed as a princess.

But the woman before him showed just what the potential within Eries had blossomed into. A tall, statuesque woman with the same shade of platinum blond hair as Celena, the long hair drawn back in a complex braid that reaches well past her waist. Covering her face is a thin sky blue veil that somehow matches the gray watered silk gown she wears. As Allen steps into the garden, a friendly smile upon her face, Eries says the last of her goodbyes to the sisters, and they affix a dark blue hooded cloak around her shoulders, despite the pleasant heat of the atmosphere, and she bows her head as the sisters all pray for her safety in her time away from them.

It is not until Allen has escorted Eries back to the ship and the crew has begun to carry what little baggage she has to her quarters for the journey back to Palas, that he has a chance to speak with her at all. "It is good to see you again, Princess," he says formally. For the first time in a month… perhaps since her departure, feeling the placidness return to him.

"And you, Knight Caeli," she responds with the hint of a smile on her face. After a small pause, the air in the room grows darker as her tone deepens with worry, "Millerna…"

"To the best of our knowledge," Allen begins, pulling a chair out for her to sit down in at the table in the cabin, "she was taken the day of Exeter's coronation."

"How is my nephew doing? I haven't received word of him since he started walking," Eries says, without a hint of bitterness at being forgotten in her voice.

Allen nods politely, impressed, yet again, at her poise, "Exeter is quite healthy, he runs his governess to the brink and back, daily, trying to keep up with him. He's… really been all that's kept Dryden stable in the past month… Along with Chid, and Celena. But I gather Chid has need to return to Freid as soon as he can. Now that Asturia may be at war…"

"No," Eries says in a calm voice that holds enough steel in it to brook no refusal. "There will be no talk of war. Not yet," she says, her voice turning introverted and reflective.

"As you wish, Princess," he responds, bowing his head. Idly, the thought he often finds himself contemplating when in Eries' commanding presence assails him again. _Why didn't Eries become Queen of Asturia?_ He shakes it off, unwilling to speculate, and compares Eries and Millerna in his mind once more.

Doing that had been part of his reasoning for discouraging, with a much firmer hand, whatever affection their was between himself and Millerna, for, despite her own claims that she would no longer rely on him, Millerna had been slipping back into her childish adoration of him once Dryden departed to help rebuild Gaea. With Celena back in his life, he found simply no use for another younger sister. If he were to look for a woman, she would have to be his equal, and with Hitomi gone, he had contented himself in tending to Celena, not looking for romance at all.

_ But_, his mind guiltily reminds him, _if there were to be a woman for me, she would be something very much like Eries._

"How is Chid doing?" she inquires in a light voice, none of the earlier edge she had once used when mentioning Allen's son to him.

"He is growing up to be quite a man, and he has inherited Marlene's commanding presence. He is a fairer Duke than his father, I hear."

"And Celena?"

Allen pauses for a second before remarking on his sister, and Eries catches the hesitation. "Why did you pause, Allen?"

"She and Chid have been entertaining each other in the palace during the search… and…" Eries frowns slightly, catching the possible implication in the two unknowing relations' actions, "she has again lifted a sword in battle."

Eries takes a deep breath and sets her shoulders, folding her hands formally on the table. "You had better give me a detailed briefing on what transpired during the festivities, or I will be walking into this blind."

Allen nods. "As you wish, Princess."

***

_Ok, so for responding to reviews:_

_Crystal - No, Merle hasn't gone anywhere. She went back to Fanelia. I'm not done with the story, just Book I. As far as I can tell right now there should be 2-4 books in total... so no, the story isn't over. And I do intend to keep writing fanfiction.  
Jane - Hope that cleared it up for you as to what was said between Hitomi and Van and what wasn't. Amoro Revidi **does** mean something, but at the moment... I don't quite recall what that is. (_^_^_). It's in another language, I believe it's Italian, though it might be Esperanto, and it's rough translation (because I speak neither Italian nor Esperanto, and Spanish is way too easy. I bet it's Italian because I tried to have the language of Hitomi's tarot cards in the fic somewhere) is Love Returned/Reunited._

_To everyone else, thanks for reviewing! I hope you enjoyed the chapter and the return of one of my favorite underdeveloped anime characters, Eries! I'll most likely start mapping out the next chapter during tech tonight, if/when I get the chance... so hopefully I'll be able to keep up this one chapter a week update schedule I've made for myself, but the run of the show I'm working on is currently in tech, so I'm doing 11 hr days of pretty much hard labor in order to pay for the cost of living, so we'll see._

_OH! Late, late response to DragonSun - No, I haven't read "Thousand Miles" "Puddle of Mud" or "A New Day Has Come". And since FF.net's search functions are kinda screwy... I can't find them... got a link to them? I've got a definite soft spot for babyshampoo's "Escaflowne the Continuation: Crusaders of Gaea". It gets a little heavy in description sometimes, but I like the story so far._

_Well that's all for now. I'm thinking of working up a Glossary or guidebook for the story with all the places and people I've added... but I don't know when I'll have the time to get that done... so, um..._

_Ja ne!_


	24. TwentyThree Fit Welcome Cesario

**Amoro Revidi**

Title: Fit Welcome - Cesario [Part Twenty-Three]  
Series: Vision of Escaflowne  
Rating: PG-13  
_A/N: I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing that I've already gotten into chapter 26. I don't like the length of twenty-five, so it might be a while before it gets posted. I decided not to upload all the chapters I've finished so that I have more of a chance to edit them this time. It's genuinely relaxing for me to write the story, which is a good thing, it comes easily to me right now, so I might not take a break between book one and book two. (Especially, since, as I said, I'm already working on 26 right now.) Review responses at the end. Sorry I don't do email right now, but I doubt any of you would write and I don't have time to respond anyway._

***

The trip back to Cesario is a quiet one, but the air inside the carriage is thick with tension. Kira sits quietly across from Jasper with her hands folded demurely in her lap, staring down at them for the majority of the overland trip, occasionally turning to look outside to where Nil rides alongside the carriage, at the head of the small contingent of guards Jasper had brought with him, along with a bodyguard Xachary sent along for his own daughter's safe keeping until the wedding.

Jasper stares with a pleasant half-smile upon his face out the opposite window from where Nil rides, an expression that Kira, when she chances to draw her violet eyes up from her intense concentration of her lap, cannot begin to fathom.

*

The atmosphere in the carriage remained the same the entire first day of the journey, and the second, as the newly betrothed couple made their way through the country of Asturia and into the borderland of Daedalus. The change of scenery from the slightly mountainous seaside country to the more inland nation brought about some reason for comment between the two royal persons within the carriage.

*

"What do you think of Daedalus' scenery, Kira?" Jasper asks when he notices her repeated glances out the window of the carriage at the thickly passing forests around them.

"It's so… concealed. In Basram… most of the available land is used for farming, and exports… not nearly so much of it is left go to forest like this."

"I gather it must leave you feeling pretty exposed, to be so out in the open all the time," Jasper remarks, turning his glance again out the window opposite Nil to glance at the trees himself, knowing it might be some time before he leaves his own country again.

"Yes, Basram… stopped feeling like a safe place, after father was elected king."

Jasper turns green eyes on his fiancé inquiringly, his look urging her to go on, but she turns towards the window silently, either missing his look or misinterpreting it. With a kind smile, Jasper leans forward and places his hand on hers, which remain folded in her lap. As she turns, eyes startled, he says in a soft voice, "Would you mind telling me about it?"

A relieved expression warms her startled face and she nods slowly. "If… you would really like to know."

"I most certainly would."

***

Two days after the ship left Asturia, it was clear that weather conditions would be unrelenting for the port selected to set down its travelers on their way to Fanelia, and so, making an easy decision, Van directed the captain to put into the nearest available port and that those bound with him to head to Fanelia would simply go overland instead of finishing the journey by sea to a closer port.

It was not a very prosperous port that the _Swan_ put into, but it was substantial enough for horses to be secured, along with a few beasts of burden, to take the handful of nobles, their king, and Hitomi to a larger city on their way back to Fanelia. The two day journey on rough seas had only brought the ship a quarter of the distance it had intended to travel, since the winds had taken to the wrong direction a few mere hours after the ship set out.

Van was slightly displeased by the idea that his safe return of Hitomi to first Fanelia, and then Earth, if she chose, would be delayed in the slightest, and he itched to be out of the public eye. There was not a country on Gaea that did not recognize him as king, however begrudgingly, and those countries that did so only begrudgingly would not challenge him because of his efforts during the Great War.

The rain splatters down upon the group as they mount their horses in the livery stables of Aves, the port city they were dropped off in, and as Van looks around at the other nobles, grouchy and slightly seasick from the rough travels onboard the _Swan_, he finds only one smiling, jovial face in the lot of them. The face, bearing jade green eyes and a dripping wet set of sandy blond bangs despite the hooded travel cloak provided her, belongs to none other than Hitomi herself, and even though she is no longer wearing a gown, as Van glances her over, leaping astride the horse found to carry him to the Egzardian capital, he notes that her bearing is still as though she is dressed in fine clothing.

_ She looks like a queen,_ he thinks, and then laughs at himself for such an off-color thought. How could any woman astride an aging horse, getting soaked to the bone, look like a queen? he asks himself.

A nagging thought in the back of his mind gets repeatedly dismissed until he can dismiss it no longer, and admits the truth of the statement, accepting it for what it's worth. "What's with all the long faces?" Hitomi calls out to the other Fanelian nobles, and as they hear her cheerful voice the nobles seem to perk up as well, somehow the discomfiture of the sea journey put aside and behind them as they see the young lady so much farther from home than they are, less comfortable and still in good spirits. "We're going _home_!"

Van blinks at the emphasis on which she places those words, and wonders what the answer to the question he's decided to ask her will be.

***

At the first town in Cesario, Jasper descends the carriage, and helps Kira down after her. They are met by a small crowd that cheers the prince, having no idea who the demure and regal young woman he is traveling with is. Though the queen had long since received word that her son had chosen a bride and would be bringing her home with him, in the interest of the future queen meeting her predecessor and to introduce the country to her, as well as that her own father had all but demanded it, Queen Emman had decided it was best to hold off on the announcement of her son's engagement until he materialized with her.

That and she had no wish to draw attention to her son during his travels. The news that Queen Millerna Aston had turned up missing shortly after her son's coronation struck the Cesarian Queen to the core, and she began to fear for her distant son, and so when she received word he was coming home, she sat on it, just like her throne.

Jasper, slightly distressed at the lack of an announcement, smiles at the people that greet them and ushers Kira quietly into the waiting carriage to take the two of them the rest of the way to the castle. When she tries to comment, he hushes her with a slight squeeze of the hand he holds, and she, understanding that hidden signal at least, smiles gracefully and ascends.

Once the two are underway, Nil seated at a perch on top of the carriage, however, Kira turns to her intended husband and asks, "What was all that about? I realize I'm not of your country, Jasper, but shouldn't your people know that we're to be married?" her voice is tight, thick as though he is ashamed of her, and the thought turns her stomach, in some small way. Since becoming engaged to Jasper, Kira had felt, for the first time, as though she were really a princess and not just the daughter of some elected high born official.

"Please don't get so upset, but something must have happened to make my mother delay in announcing the engagement… don't worry, we'll soon be at the capital and the palace and you'll have your announcement and I can find out what's gone so wrong to delay mother from announcing it."

Seated side by side, a thick silence passes between the two of them for a while as the carriage rolls along, until at last Jasper sighs and, bowing, reaches over to take her hands in his. "Please, don't be angry… I want very much for you and my mother to get along…"

"Father always said," Kira replies, staring forward at the lush interior of the carriage before her, "that to judge something without knowing all the facts is unfair and rash. I intend to do nothing in this manner, if I can at all help it." She tries to maintain her dignified and aloof manner, but the gentleness and warmth of Jasper's hand in her own makes her turn her violet eyes towards him, a large mistake, she finds as the glance itself causes her heartbeat to speed up slightly. He smiles as he sees the change in her poise and she looks away, out the other window to the country outside, just past the guards.

*

The castle in Zari, Cesario, is at least the age of the castle in Palas, and in the same style, though it is more suited to the climate of the mountainous, forested Cesario than the seaside and sunlight of Asturia. The cooler air of the country, in general, refreshes Kira as she gets a scent of it through the carriage windows, and she finds herself smiling despite her slight discontent with Jasper. She watches the shadows the leaves make in the carriage as they leave Zari and approach the slightly removed castle, and leans her head quietly on his shoulder, continuing to watch the scenery go by.

Jasper flushes too faintly for Kira to notice as she does this, but eventually a smile breaks out on his face as the carriage slows to a hault and he rouses her gently. "I hate to disturb you, Kira," he says in a quiet voice, "but we've arrived."

*

Kira expected, after the lack of a reception in the border town, for the same treatment at the castle, to be ushered out of the carriage and into a suite somewhere until the queen had time to meet with her, or Jasper came to collect her. But, as Jasper told her to be sure her gown was as straightened and tidy as she could make it after a week of carriage travel with few stops, she began to wonder.

And when he began to fuss with his own state of dress, she began to grow nervous. A well-dressed footman opened the door on Jasper's side of the carriage and he stepped out, extending a hand towards her own person within the carriage with all the regal grace he had used when dancing in the Asturian court, and she very nearly fell out on her face as she descended to see the rows of castle staff turned out to greet the prince and his future wife.

A hundred off-handed introductions later, after traveling the length of the drawbridge in Asturia twice, and ascending what seemed to Kira to be a million and two stairs, Jasper allowed her to catch her breath outside a large pair of ornately carved doors. "Jasper-" she began, trying to get him to explain, but he merely drew up to his full height and tucked her arm in his with a consoling gaze as he mouthed the words that very nearly caused Kira to loose consciousness, 'The Queen has asked to meet you, now.'

No sooner had Kira taken a breath to reply to that statement, to object, perhaps, because of her weariness or the lack of freshness in her attire, had the doors been pushed open from inside by two more smartly dressed servants and trumpets sounded to herald the prince and princess's arrival.

*

_ Queen Emman of Cesario_, Kira thinks as she gathers her wits about her and bows deeply to her soon-to-be mother-in-law, _looks hardly older than my own mother. _True, the queen is paler than most, having had health problems for the past decade or so, and she looks slightly tired, even at midday, seated upon her throne at the heart of the palace. The lighting in the room softens the queen's brown hair and causes her green eyes, so much like Jasper's, to sparkle softly as she smiles at Kira.

"So you're the princess that's caused such a fuss."

Kira glances up at the voice that somehow manages to hold a smile within it, drawing the eyes past the frail shell of the queen and into her personality. "I suppose I am, your highness," she says, bowing her head low before slowly standing.

"Come, my dear young lady, we're soon to be as close as a mother-in-law and her son's husband can be… I would be most put out if for the remainder of my time here you were to call me 'your highness' or 'majesty'. Em will do just fine."

Kira's face cracks with a warm smile as she hears the queen's words.

"Now, Jasper, do be a good son and go see to Kira's things, will you? I'm sure I've got some explaining to do about not having announced your engagement to the entire country."

Jasper nods slowly, "And I'll get to be privy to this… just when, mother?"

"Dinner. Now, go."

Kira watches in fascination as Jasper departs the room, Nil slipping off silently to follow him. Kira frowns slightly, not having noticed Nil enter the room with them.

"You'll get used to Nileyah, Kira," the queen says, rising slowly, due to age and infirmity. "But she will be a bit cross with you, I suspect, at first."

Kira blinks, "Y-" she stops herself, "Em, you know…?"

"I know that my son's bodyguard is excellent at her job, and watches over him as any mother could hope for," Emman replies, moving to link arms with Kira, "She has stopped three attempts on his life in the past year. I will be hiring more castle guards now with what has happened…"

*

Dinner, it turns out, is rather silent with the heavy news from Asturia hanging in the air between those assembled in the dining room. But soon, despite her reticence to speak with the stoic figure of Nileyah hanging just over Jasper's shoulder near the wall, Kira manages to strike up conversation about the country, and the mood in the room lightens.

The three royals retire to their separate chambers, Kira and Jasper seeing Emman to her bedchambers first, and then, since he knows his own way around the castle, Jasper sees Kira to hers. "I really enjoy your mother's company," Kira says with a smile as the faint laughter in the air between them seems to pleasantly fade out.

"I'm glad, I knew that you would."

"And… I wanted to apologize for my behavior during the ride to the palace, I … was being unfair to you."

Jasper blinks and looks down at the woman on his arm, appreciating how much it must've taken her to say that, and smiles. "It's all right."

The two walk on in silence for a while, until Jasper draws them up short in front of a set of carved doors. "Here we are," he says, reaching forward to unlock the doors and then turns over the key to her. "Your own suite, to keep your own hours in."

Kira smiles faintly as Jasper goes on about arranging servants for her and the other copies of that key, until she leans up a few inches and kisses him into silence. Blinking wide green eyes, he returns the kiss until she leans back and looks down at the floor. Before he gets a chance to say anything she turns and heads into her room, closing the door with a polite good evening.

*

While Asturia searched her borders high and wide for their queen, Cesario prepared to welcome a future one, with a wedding ceremony and a coronation of their own. Emman, understanding the shifting airs in politics, sent out announcements for the wedding, but few invitations, wanting neither the responsibility to protect those that might gather, nor for a war to blow up and trap her guests far from home.

The ceremony was held on the same day that Asturia received word of the whereabouts of Queen Millerna, but that bit of news was kept within the castle at Palas and not broadcasted to the neighboring countries for fear of the reactions people might have to the loss of the ruler from her throne.

The ceremony, in itself was both elegant and simple. A holiday was called in the country so that as many of the people wishing to attend the service of their prince and his princess could attend, and, seeing that Jasper was much more loved than his father before him, many of the citizens of Cesario did indeed attend the ceremony, putting off work either to make the journey to the capital or to celebrate the fact that the prince had gotten married.

All in all it was a pleasant day for the kingdom, and an event both Kira and Emman were well proud of, in both its design and execution. Jasper teasingly remarked to his wife and mother that if it weren't for Nil he would have spent his entire wedding day alone, but closed his lips tightly on that comment as Kira and Emman exchanged worried glances for a moment and even Jasper dared not glance over his shoulder to where he knew Nil was standing. The head table at the banquet was much more noticeably silent after he spoke those words, and the banquet ended with a single dance for Kira and Jasper, who then were toasted and headed up, alone, towards their marital chambers.

*

"That was a mean thing to say," Kira says to him lowly as they walk slowly up to their rooms, though she does not object in the least to Jasper's arm around her waist or the gentle kiss he places on her cheek.

"I didn't mean for it to be, it was meant in jest."

Kira sighs and glances back to see Nileyah following them at a decent distance, but present nonetheless. "She won't… come into the room, will she?"

"No, but she will guard the door all evening."

Kira nods acquiescently at that, leaning her head on her new husband's shoulder as the two of them climb the final set of stairs up to the suite.

Nil watches the couple closely, a faint glow to her eyes as she does so, that, if he were watching her as closely as he used to, Jasper would have been able to identify as strange and off-colored for his Kathis.

***

_Etoile - I guess I didn't realize the story had so much angst, but then I'm just the writer. The little mascarade of characters in my head all have their own goals and hopes to see to. I suppose for some of them there is quite a bit of angst, because, as William Goldman is prone to state, "Life isn't fair." (Of course you must also be told that Goldman is also quite fond of saying that "love is the best thing in the world, except for cough drops". I personally think love is better than cough drops... but I'm not Goldman.) I'm glad you enjoy the story, it's meant to be that way. And of course I will be continuing it._

_DragonSun - Doh! Can you tell me the band(s) that play them? Perhaps I have heard the songs._

_To the anonymous writer that is either telepathic, a speaker of the language, or mystically picked up a sky blue spiral bound notebook that dropped from the sky, thank you for the translation. I really do research the foreign languages I use in my stories, it just rarely shows._

_I'll do my best to keep responding to questions placed in reviews here, since I don't have time to email everyone that leaves an email with their reviews. Catch you all next week with the next chapter!_


	25. TwentyFour In Attendance Freid

**Amoro Revidi**

Title: In Attendance - Freid [Part Twenty-Four]  
Series: Vision of Escaflowne  
Rating: PG-13  
_A/N: Let's all pray to the gods that govern FF.net that the server goes back up so you guys can finish reading this. Here's 24, and I'm in the middle of 29, for kicks. Book one is so close to being done that I can taste it. I'm a little slow on finishing it because I need to find the right mood music to write the end of 29 and chapter 30 to, otherwise it'll probably be a little off. I think that until the end this is the shortest chapter. The next shortest is 7 pages, and after that we get into 8s and 9s and I think maybe a ten or two. Happy reading!_

***

Chid finds himself slightly reluctant to leave Asturia, when the time comes. He hasn't been able to see his other aunt since she left for the convent in Thera, a city he can not recall ever having seen in person. He had received several drawings of the place, quick sketches Eries had made when she first arrived and sent him when he wrote to ask her about the Sisters in Tuloom Convent.

Of all the people relating to Asturia, Chid is the only one to have bothered to keep touch with his long-absent aunt at any constant rate. Once the need of her as an advisor and confidant had lessened, Millerna rarely remembered her sister other than on holidays and the older young woman's birthday. Chid wonders, as he has since noticing the almost needy tone of some of her letters to him, if Eries minded much being left out of things and ignored by her family.

He had only caught a glimpse of her before he had boarded his own craft on the way back to Freid, as Celena, Dryden, and Exeter saw him off they also welcomed "home" the older princess. She wore a thick gray veil that Chid thought went very well with the watered silk gown she wore as she descended _the Crusade_ on Allen Schezar's arm in a stately manner. He also, very quietly, thought that there was something more to the normally proud look on the senior Knight Caeli's face. A twinkle to his blue eyes normally absent, a certain smile about his features and bounce to his step.

Chid could not recall, in that instant as the two of them passed with barely a nod, though they had been corresponding nearly since she departed Asturia, exactly why Eries had been skipped over for becoming queen. Surely, she could have found a suitable husband, if the need arose. And surely she bore the position of power well… Seeing the comfort between the princess and knight, he wondered momentarily if the reason she was skipped over was some family secret brought on by an association with Allen Schezar… but then, as he saw the easiness remain in the presence of Celena and Dryden, he dismissed the notion.

_ Whatever affection Aunt Eries has for Allen, and he for her, is no reason she did not become queen,_ he decided.

And then, after the briefest instant, she had glided down the landing area and was bundled into a carriage with Celena, Dryden, and Exeter, Allen mounting a horse and throwing a salute after Chid as he climbed into his own airship and headed back to Freid.

*

It was a swift journey, Freid being directly to the south of Asturia, and nowhere near far enough away to usually warrant the use of an airship to travel between the two. But both countries' security advisors had decided to take no chances with the young duke's safety on his return to his country, so he and what he felt was a small army loaded into the airship and returned to the Duchy…

*

He sighs pleasantly, taking in the air from the balcony of the castle that overlooks the garden. He finds that if he squints his eyes he can make out when a younger version of himself spied on Van and Hitomi from this same vantage point, and idly wonders what the two of them are up to, and if Van asked her what he said to Chid that he might, or if Hitomi was back on the Mystic Moon as was the then-current plans when he'd seen them last. In Asturia.

His thoughts fly back to Asturia, momentarily, and over his family there. And Celena.

And Allen.

He blinks as an aide of his chief advisor comes and bows to him.

"Speak," Chid says, knowing better than to break custom with his people in his land, where so much stands upon ceremony and appearances. He is yet again glad there is no formal court in Freid other than the audience of the duke, which rarely lasts more than an hour or so a day, in untroubled times.

"I was sent to remind you, my Duke," the aide, whose name Chid finds he has misplaced, bows deeply, palms touching, "that your audience will be assembled at your leisure, and the time allotted for it today is three hours."

Chid nods, debating quickly between holding his office hours in the morning to ruin the reminiscent hours of daylight, or in the afternoon, when he is more often sleepier than in the morning, and so less sharp with his wits. "I will be in the throne room in half an hour."

The aide to the advisor remains in a bowed position, prompting Chid to speak more. "What other news do you have for me?"

"A small delegation from the Bikathian Consortium is here to speak with you, my Duke, and begs a meeting before your audience with the people."

Chid narrows his blue eyes slightly, but holds his tongue, having recently seen the value of the people trained by the Consortium, which, until then he had spent little time meditating on. "Have them sent to me directly, I will meet them in the courtyard. And send Kiyo, I will practice with my sword."

"Yes, my Duke." The bowing aide turns and heads off about the business his duke has bid him. Chid begins to descend the steps into the courtyard.

*

Trailing alongside Jujiin, Fariah can't help but stare wide eyed at the splendor and timeless age of the Freid palace grounds. The ornate stone carvings draw her eyes along their length and up, up to the tip-top of the pillars and baas-relief cuttings in the walls. "Don't stare," Jujiin says sternly, "you'll have a lifetime to stare, for goodness sakes keep your wits about you now, Fariah, you have a job to do… a duty here."

But the red headed young woman can't control her eyes from wandering from the floor in front of her, and barely hears the conversation Jujiin has with the Duke's chief advisor, Umal. She does, however, sense that the advisor is less than thrilled they have arrived, and yet, she sniffs in his tone, he is also relieved to have someone else to blame if the Duke comes to harm.

An aide steps out of the room, seeming to disappear into the carvings in a corner of the room, which has swept clean, cool stone floors she can feel through her boots, which have been made thin by walking in them from Egzardia to Asturia and then up into Freid. Her toes drum the floor in the toes of her boots as she waits, sensing Jujiin's uneasiness.

The matronly personage of her fellow traveler somehow belies Jujiin's masculinity, though Fariah knows certainly that Jujiin is male. The tall, yet willowy figure reminds Fariah mostly of what she might imagine an elf as being, only with slightly different ears, and more slanted eyes. Jujiin had been her master of etiquette, which, as an outward bound Kathis, she was required to study for half her days for the past two years. Given the mounting crisis, and when Jujiin and Fariah walked out of the compound the only trouble was in Ispano, there was no one else available of the proper stature to negotiate the Duke of Freid into accepting protection.

Fariah had shrugged complacently and accepted her most-time mentor as her last official escort. Besides, she figured, who better to convince this frumpy Duke of her necessity than the master of etiquette and negotiating himself?

Her attention is brought back easily as the advisor bows slightly and motions for the two of them to follow the aide out of the room. "Duke Chid will await the two of you in the courtyard."

*

Her first words upon entering the courtyard, however, are not any sort of salutation to her assignment, or silence in awe of the carvings, but a highly undignified, "What does he _think_ he's doing with that sword?" as she watches Chid fumble through his practice session.

Thrown off by the incredulous exclamation, Chid looses balance in his thrust and takes a jerky step forward before loosing proper grip on his sword and pitching forward to fall on his face in the dirt. Fariah steps over to lift the sword and offer her hand to him, and he glances up at her with a humorless expression. "I happen to be practicing my sword skills… who do you think you are?"

"May I present your Kathis," Jujiin interrupts what he can sense is an upcoming argument, "Duke Chid," he pauses to glare at Fariah. "Fariah Draven."

"Duke Chid?" Fariah blinks, generally confused, and unable to believe that the young man, handsome in some way, that just bit the dirt before her worn boots, is the duke she has come to protect. Or that he is so horrible with a sword.

"The very same," Chid says, slightly cross with the idea that this young woman is to be his bodyguard. "I'm wondering if that makes any difference, or if you just lack manners completely," Chid begins to chastise her, but even as he starts to speak she kneels and offers him a hand up.

_ Freidan customs and formality are very strict,_ Fariah remembers Jujiin telling her. _And on top of that, the Duke is half-Aston from his mother, Marlene. So no matter what, if you offend him, be sure to apologize._

"My sincerest apologies, Duke Chid, I should have held my tongue."

Chid blinks.

"It will not happen again, I assure you."

Chid turns his eyes on Jujiin, mind already made up. He looks at the aide standing next to the Kathis instructor and the aide steps forward, bowing with his hands pressed together, awaiting orders. "See Jujiin to a comfortable room. It's time for my audience, and if I'm even going to bother with allowing Fariah to stay, she must accompany me there."

Neverminding that his Duke is still half-sprawled in the dirt, the aide bows deeper and turns to escort Jujiin off. Jujiin follows the aide, eyes straying back to see what passes between the Kathis and the Duke as he does so.

Fariah stands and offers Chid a hand up. "I'm sorry that my outburst startled you, Duke Chid."

Chid, mentally begrudging the girl her first misstep, takes her hand and gets to his feet, silently surprised at the amount of steel behind her grip. His sword instructor bows as Chid resheathes the sword at his waist and adjusts his attire to proper neatness. "And I take it you could do better?"

Fariah lowers her eyes to the ground and doesn't speak.

"Come now, could you?"

"If I could not, Duke Chid, then I could not properly protect you, and would not have been assigned to do so."

"After lunch, I would like to see a demonstration," Chid says, turning to head into the castle once more. Fariah falls easily into step behind him, stony silent after that request.

***

In Egadia, Egzardia's capital, the Fanelian party took the time to rest. It had taken them almost a week to get there, and the first news they heard downstairs in the tavern was that the Queen of Asturia had gone missing.

*

Hitomi's face goes pale as Van politely asks for the speaker to repeat the news, and as he says in clear, unaccented words, "The Queen Millerna of Asturia… she's missing," Hitomi suddenly feels faint, and puts a hand out to Van. He guides her quickly to a chair, and she sits down.

"Hitomi?" Van asks, concerned, but to her, his voice is far away.

_ No… why didn't I trust what I thought I saw?_ she thinks to herself. _If I had, maybe there could've been a way to stop whatever's happened…_

The crowd in the tavern glances uneasily at Hitomi and Van, not so much because they recognize the Fanelian King, that was the first thing that happened when they arrived. It hadn't been a problem in Aves, where the people knew less of the world than the capital, despite being a seaport town. Once in Egadia, however, the word spread fast throughout the streets that there was a group from Fanelia, containing the king, in the country. But instead the crowd peers curiously at Van and his guest because they do not recognize Hitomi's face, and wonder why he is being so attentive to her.

Once the news reached the palace, the newly returned Queen, having taken her daughters to her brother's palace in Daedalus for his birthday instead of accompanying her husband to the festivities in Asturia, quickly started a plan in action to trap the Fanelian King. Her husband was still en route from Asturia, at that point, and hadn't the chance to tell his wife of the futility of trying to marry off any of their daughters to a king whose heart was already bound elsewhere.

A messenger steps into the tavern, causing several of the patrons to look up, but Van continues to try and coax some words from Hitomi instead, not noticing the approaching figure until a slight cough from behind him draws his attention.

"A message," the man, dressed in the royal uniform of Egzardia begins, offering a letter forward to Van, "from the Queen."

Van narrows his eyes, about to snap at the man, but then just sighs, relinquishing one of his hands from their hold on Hitomi's, and takes the letter. The messenger takes a step back, and Van barely keeps himself from scowling at the thought of being expected to read and respond to the letter immediately.

He opens it and doesn't bother to stop his frown.

_Fanelia-_ it reads, _if you had but told us you were coming to spend a little sojourn in our country, we might have been more ready to welcome you with open arms. Surely you won't refuse a room in the palace for the duration of your stay with us in Egzardia. We await you for dinner this evening._

_ To refuse,_ he thinks to himself, _might start problems. Even though I know Queen Inah is trying to fix me up with one of her daughters, I can't risk it right now, not with Millerna gone missing and whatever happened in Ispano on my mind._

"Tell Queen Inah to expect us for dinner in two hours," Van says, "_all_ of us."

The messenger bows stiffly and turns on his heel, happy to do his mistress' bidding, and return with such joyful news.

Van turns to Khail, a noble that had come down from the rooms in the inn to the tavern with Hitomi and Van to see about dinner, and says, "You'd better inform everyone. Have our things packed and ready to go to the palace."

Khail nods and turns to go inform the four other Fanelian nobles of the impending unsettling situation. With a slight chuckle he glances back at his king and the lady Hitomi in the tavern. _Whatever Inah's planning, probably won't work. King Van and the Lady Hitomi really deserve one another._

***

Fariah finds the throne room just as fascinating as the rest of the palace, if not more so. She stands, at attention, just over Chid's left shoulder, throughout the audience and listens half-intently to the things being brought to Chid's attention. She feels tension building in her shoulders as she thinks ahead to the demonstration Chid asked her for.

All too soon, it seems, the audience is over, and Chid rises, the assembly rising with him, and he steps out, Fariah following him, both Duke and Kathis with preoccupied looks on their faces.

"So," Fariah says in a quiet tone as the two of them enter a long silent hallway with only the sound of their footsteps echoing off the carved walls to keep the quiet from roaring at them.

"I asked you for a demonstration, correct?" Chid responds, suddenly feeling very tired after hearing the state of affairs in his country since his departure nearly two months prior. "I won't be the one to spar you, since your skills should be better than mine, would you prefer one of the guards or…"

"Whoever you decide will be best, Duke Chid," Fariah responds quietly, in an almost submissive tone that she hates herself for.

Chid scowls and turns to her, "I don't want to, all right! You make up your own mind!"

Fariah blinks, face blank for a moment as the seething Duke glares at her hard. _This isn't anger at me,_ she recognizes instantly, _he's just had a long day… after all that he found out about this morning…_

"It will be you then, Duke Chid," she says in an even voice, bringing her gray eyes up to stare straight into his own blue ones.

Chid looks bewildered a moment. "I am not in the mood to…"

Fariah steps back one step, knowing better than to let him go about angry, somehow. "It _will_ be you, Chid," she repeats, dropping the formal title.

Grudgingly, Chid nods, "This way," he responds, turning to lead her off to one of the outlying dojos.

*

The noise of a spar brought Master Tean to the door of the dojo. What he was not prepared for, however was that the two people sparring should be the Duke himself and a young woman with coppery red hair tied back in a thick braid.

As Tean watches, the Duke looses his weapon.

"Again," the young woman says, flipping it from the floor to her hand with the toe of her worn boots and tossing it back to the Duke.

"You've proven yourself."

"You're a lousy swordsman," she replies. "Again."

Tean is about to move in to assist his Duke when Chid growls and lunges for the young woman again. Though nowhere near an expert swordsman, to all his tutors, Chid had at least been fair at sword combat, but the young wisp of a woman standing opposite him seems to simply disregard his attacks, blocking blow after blow without loosing much ground.

Tean marvels at the young woman's grace and skill, and then sees it, as she dislodges Chid's weapon once again. Two things, actually, the first being a small tattoo on the inside of her left wrist, and the second that she is disarming him with a twist of her blade in his own style.

"How do you keep doing that!" Chid growls, bent over double as he catches his breath.

"I've been training in sword techniques since I was four. You should not expect to be at my skill level, Duke Chid."

"Call me Duke again and I'll have you thrown out of the country." Tean decides it is time to leave the Duke alone with his Kathis, since it is obvious, and Tean thanks the Great One, that the Duke will accept her. He turns and leaves as silently as he drifted by.

"I have enough people bowing to me and calling me 'my Duke' or 'Duke Chid' or 'Exalted One' and if you're going to stay I will **not** have you doing it too. My name," he pauses, turning flaming blue eyes towards her, "is Chid zar Freid. I will expect you to call me Chid."

"As you wish," Fariah replies, kneeling and offering him back his sword.

***

_Jeez, the site goes down right when I had updates, and then I got hauled off comp-for almost a week. So expect a few at a time here people. In response to things._

_DragonSun - Yes, I have heard at least one, A thousand Miles by Vanessa Carlton or whoever. The song is so much better than the video, tyvm._

_Sakura - Jeeeeez. Did you have free time on your hands or what? I appreciate all the reviews, but I don't think every chapter needed one. ^_~. As for your plot questions, everything will get answered in the story. I make a habit of not telling future plot to anyone but in an IRC or messenger service, it ruins it for the other readers. And where did I write in a torture chamber? *blinkblinks* Last I checked Millerna was in a holding cell sort of thing... *peruses* unless you read some torture devices I slipped in while on sinus medication._

_That's all for right now, expect a couple updates to FF.net if it'll take my pages. Tonight. I'm still in 29 atm, but I'm working._


	26. TwentyFive Loose Ends

**Amoro Revidi**

Title: Loose Ends [Part Twenty-Five]  
Series: Vision of Escaflowne  
Rating: PG-13  
_A/N: Ok, so I lied. This chapter is only 6 pages too. Otherwise, I don't think I lied. I'm trying to get all of these (in this book) done and posted before I have to go. In this chapter, I used honorifics to the best of my ability to give the chapter a feeling different from Gaea, we'll see if it worked. Enjoy!_

***

Amano pulls the car over to the curb outside of the school and glances at it up and down distrustfully. The voice on the phone had startled both he and Yukari into action, but the urgency in him to speak with their old track coach, one of the few people Hitomi kept in touch with since moving to Yokohama from Kamakura had sincerely diminished.

"Yuka, are you sure that you…" Amano begins, but before he can finish his sentence, she's out of the car and heading inside. Amano sighs. "And all of the sudden this preoccupation with Kanzaki-san, after a few years of not speaking of her at all. Yuka, when will you stop beating yourself up over what happened?" Amano turns off the car and climbs out, following his fiancé into the old high school building where the three of them had their education together. He stares straight ahead and tries not to think of what happened between himself and the two former best friends.

*

He had been on the verge of kissing Hitomi when Yukari entered the nurse's office, with a cheery greeting that was quickly cut short, "Hito-mi. "

The broken look in her eyes as she took in the positioning of the two of them made his heart catch in his throat, and something caught in his heart as well to see the downtrodden look on the team manager's face. He was more accustomed to seeing Yukari smiling brightly and flirting mildly with him, and hadn't a clue how the look of her with such a broken expression would affect him.

The next day when Hitomi made her blushingly formal request, he smiled, feeling that his leaving might do them all some good. He was surprised to find that though he was flattered by Hitomi's affection, even returned it in some ways, he slightly wished it was Yukari making the request that he give her a first kiss.

When Hitomi had disappeared… he was startled, frightened. It seemed, to him, that she had been willing to go with the strange young man on what looked like the giant dragon, and after she disappeared in a flash to the sky, his next thought after confusion was of Yukari's reaction.

Turning, he saw that same broken look in her eyes, and went to her. "Uchida-chan?" he asked quietly, and he saw that her blank face was beginning to tear up. He put one hand on the small of her back and quietly lead her back inside.

When Yukari came out of her shock, she was blushing furiously at the tenderness that Amano was showing her, and he found that he liked the faint glow of her skin when she smiled and blushed self-consciously.

In the weeks that passed while Hitomi was missing, things changed slightly between himself and Yukari. She was obviously broken up over her missing best friend, but there was something he couldn't put his finger on, until he figured it out. Hitomi wasn't the only person with a crush on him. Yukari genuinely cared for him as well.

*

When Hitomi came back, it was as though nothing had changed, except Amano felt the noticeable lack of affection in the younger woman whenever he saw her. She seemed much older than when she had left to wherever she had gone, and something in her eyes, when at times she would stare off into the distance after a race or when he passed her in the hallways, told him all he needed to know.

The closeness between Hitomi and Yukari seemed to disappear just as easily as Hitomi had, Yukari constantly afraid that Hitomi had grown distant because of the relationship she shared with Amano. Amano knew better, since Hitomi's attitude, with the exception of her lack of affection, was still friendly and formal with him. But Yukari couldn't get it out of her head.

Unfortunately, Amano had to pick up the pieces when she and Hitomi had fights over what was wrong, and what had changed. Yukari continued to agitate Hitomi long after anyone else would have dropped the point, saying that she was worried about Hitomi.

***

Seated in a comfortable chair on the battlements of the castle in Zari, Kira reads the letters from her sister with a smile on her face. The sun shines overhead and a slight breeze blows through the forest around the castle.

_Kira -_

It was wonderful to hear you were so fortunate to find a husband on your trip to Asturia, her older sister writes, _I'm glad you're out from under father's thumb at last. I only hope Mariah doesn't catch the same problems you did when I left to Zaibach._

Kira glances over slightly at the other letter, from her younger sister Mariah, and sighs, _I hope so too, Sierra._

_I wish you all happiness in the world, and only wish I could've attended the ceremony in person. Since I couldn't, and Goya felt horrible that it was unsafe to travel to it, we're sending along our wedding present and it will arrive sometime after the letter, with an escort._

"Wedding present?" Kira puzzles aloud.

Jasper, who has stopped in the doorway of the stairs, smiles as he approaches his new wife and asks, "Who are the letters from?"

"My sisters," she replies, looking up with a smile as he leans down and kisses her in greeting. "Sierra is sending a wedding present of some sort."

"You expected less?"

"No… but Zaibach isn't fully back on its feet since the last war…"

"Given the current mood, they either never will, or they will very quickly. There's talk of war in the air. Borders are closing up all over. I hope your sister's wedding present arrives safely."

"I wonder what it is she could've sent as a present…"

Jasper smiles and kisses her forehead tenderly, "Patience, darling."

Kira smiles and sets the letter down, lifting the second one from Mariah.

***

"Hitomi, won't you tell me what's wrong?"

"I told you, 'Kari-chan, nothing."

"You're lying, Hitomi," Yukari responded, her eyes narrowing as she prepared for another attack of Hitomi's supposed defenses. "You don't talk to anyone anymore… you've stopped reading tarot cards. I'm surprised that you haven't quit the track team!"

"Why would I quit the track team?" for the first time, agitation enters Hitomi's voice. "I love to run."

"You only joined it because of Amano-sempai, now that you've lost him, I'm sure you've lost interest."

"Stop telling me how I feel, Yukari."

"Well if I don't say it, who will? Certainly you won't. You never say _any_thing anymore." Yukari took a step forward, folding her arms on her chest. "It eats you up that the two of us are together, doesn't it?"

"I think," Hitomi said in a quiet voice, never having wanted to hurt Yukari, but unable to see another way for her friend to desist and just be happy, "that you're more upset that I'm not upset than you are happy to have Amano."

The words, spoken in a still, placid voice that lacked emotions clearly, if Yukari had been listening carefully, cut Yukari right to the core. She let a hand fly and slapped Hitomi, tears brimming in her eyes. Hitomi did not reply more than to turn and look at her best friend, now former, and sigh slightly.

The two of them parted ways without another word, and Amano had to console the crying, broken young woman he had fallen for carefully. Shortly after that incident, Hitomi's family moved to Yokohama, taking Hitomi out of the picture. She didn't stop running track meets, however, much to Yukari's chagrin.

***

Fariah starts to get an uneasy feeling, and wishes she had someone to ask about it, but realizes, that, as the only resident Kathis in probably three hundred miles, she is on her own. And as such, she sucks up her courage and tells herself to stay on guard. Chid, she notices, seems quite preoccupied as well.

"Chid," she asks as the two of them move into the breakfast room.

"Yes?" he responds. She sighs inwardly, slightly angry that he still refuses to use her name most of the time. She figures it is probably because he has so many people around him that trying to remember everyone's name would get quite tedious and would be utterly impossible.

"I don't know a thing about politics… but you're upset about something."

Chid stiffens and turns to throw a glare at Fariah. "What do you care?"

"It's my duty to look after you," Fariah responds evenly.

"You're not my mother!" Chid snaps, sitting down and ignoring Fariah as he starts his breakfast.

"Well you're no walk in the park either, Chid."

Chid blinks and pauses, his fork halfway to his mouth.

"Yeah, you heard me. Enjoy your breakfast, _Duke_." Fariah turns on her heel and retreats to the doorway of the room, where she has a better vantage point to look over the area from.

"Watch your tongue," Chid calls after her.

"Grow up and I won't have to," she responds, standing at attention there.

"How dare you, I am the Duke of Freid," Chid starts to protest. He turns in his chair to see Fariah standing at attention and looking alertly around, but ignoring him. He turns back and folds his arms on his chest.

_ Chid may be a good Duke to his people, but he's still a boy,_ Fariah reasons with herself, trying to understand her attitude towards her charge. _Only so much of the pampering is good for anyone, and they won't tell him the truth about things that don't require his judgment. Being meek around him isn't going to do him any good, or make him like me or become my friend. It's not important, I've got a job to do._

Chid glares at her, but goes back to eating when she doesn't respond.__

***

Amano finds, as he mounts the steps to the track, that he can still remember Hitomi's last words to him on her last day at Kamakura-Kita High School, the day of his graduation.

_ "It was an honor to know you and to run on your team, Sempai."_

She had stopped calling him 'Amano-sempai' and resorted to simply calling him 'captain' like the other members of the team.

_ "It'll be your team next year, Kanzaki-san."_ He could recall his own words as well, and her humble smile.

_ "Perhaps it would have been, if I were staying in Kamkura."_

_ "What does that mean, Kanzaki-san?"_

_ "My family is moving to Yokohama during the break… I'll be finishing off school there instead of here."_ She had looked as though she were about to say more, but Yukari rounded a corner and called out to him. _"I'd better be going, Sempai. I don't want Uchida-san to think ill of you, or worse of me."_ And with that, she turned and left. He saw her again briefly during the commencement and in his peripheral vision at a few of the graduation parties, but understood her sentiments and good intentions.

Hitomi had no wish to disrupt the happiness she could see as clearly as a vision for her best friend and former crush. It was just as those girls getting quickly onto their train had said, _It seems like they are destined to be together!_ Hitomi might not believe in destiny, but she knew quite a bit about happiness, and felt like she was encroaching on Yukari's, so when her father announced he'd been offered a job in Yokohama, she had made no objections to moving and starting a new school.

*

"I see the two of you made it safely," the hoarse croak of Inoue-sensei, the track instructor, reaches Amano's ears as he catches up with Yukari in the hallway.

"Sensei," he replies, bowing formally as though he were still Inoue-sensei's student. The graying man smiles proudly as Yukari follows suit.

"I was glad to hear of your engagement, Uchida-san, Amano-san. Congratulations." Amano bows again, and catches the faint blush on Yukari's cheeks as she bows as well.

"Is there some reason specifically you called us, Sensei?" Yukari asks, "You said on the phone that there was something relating to… Hitomi."

"Nothing too pressing. I didn't expect the two of you to come down so quickly. I just have a few letters that were forwarded here from Hitomi's college. It appears that without any other relatives I was listed as a tertiary reference for her. I was hoping that you could take them to her house, since I recall the three of you once being close."

"Certainly, Sensei," Yukari says quickly, pride in her voice as she continues, "I'm looking after her house while she's away. It would be no trouble for me to drop them off."

Amano frowns slightly, looking out the window.

"Sensei… could I… take a look at the track once more?" Yukari asks, suddenly feeling sentimental at being back at her old high school.

"Certainly, Uchida-san. I trust you remember the way?"

"Of course, Sensei."

As soon as Yukari has left the room, Inoue turns to Amano. "You think she'll open them?" he asks quietly.

"Perhaps," Amano replies, watching his fiancé as she descends the stairs into the track arena and glances around in a sentimental manner, spreading her arms, the letters clasped in one hand, and spinning in a few lazy circles.

"Something I thought you should know," Inoue says quietly as he steps up to watch Yukari alongside Amano. "I don't very much think that Kanzaki-san will be returning, from wherever she's gone."

Amano blinks and turns to look at Inoue-sensei. "What do you mean?"

"I remember the last time, when she went missing, and I very much doubt this time will be different, only…" there is a twinkle in the aging track coach's eye as he speaks the next words, "I don't think she'll come back this time."

*

The drive back to their shared apartment is a quiet one, Amano turning Inoue-sensei's explanation of his reasoning over in his mind. Yukari sits primly, the letters settled in a neat stack on her lap, hands adjusting them ever so slightly.

***

The palace in Egadia was not decked out for a celebration, in fact the spring cleaning had begun only days before, upon the queen and princesses' return from Daedalus. But still, it is an impressive structure, riding alongside Van, Hitomi can hardly keep her smile to herself as she thinks quietly, _Is there any castle in Gaea I won't have seen by the end of this trip?_

Van glances over at her, slightly nervous, but as he sees her smile, he relaxes. He had started to explain what Inah would be plotting, but it hadn't been possible with the amount of time they'd been given. Making it to the castle before dinner time required that they be properly attired for dinner before mounting their horses. The six of them enter the palace through the front gates and are greeted by a small fanfare and a red carpet leading inside on the marble flagstones of the courtyard.

The six of them dismount and are lead through the dimly lit castle up to the royal dining room, where the light of the setting sun emblazons Queen Inah and her four daughters. Van silently gags, glancing covertly at Hitomi, whose hand is tucked resolutely in his arm as he leads her into the room at the head of the small party of nobles.

"I'm so glad you decided to take me up on my invitation, King Van," Inah says, bowing slightly to him and his party. As she stands, she glances sharply at Hitomi, "Who, pray tell, might this lovely woman be?"

"Queen Inah Zardi, Lady Hitomi Kanzaki."

Hitomi curtsies deeply.

"She's visiting Gaea as a guest of Fanelia, and a close personal friend," Van continues, smiling fondly at her. Hitomi smiles beautifully back at him and the Queen, who looks peeved at her presence in general, and begins to introduce her four daughters.

"I do not recall if you have ever met my daughters, Saphira, Jaezel, Rubi, and Quivel," as each girl's name is called she steps forward to bow before the king, smiling prettily and looking as radiant as possible in the sunset lighting.

Hitomi sighs to herself, well aware of how staged the entire meeting is, and unimpressed by the princesses. "I hope you'll be staying with us for a while, King Van?" Saphira says when prompted by her mother to speak.

"Actually, we'll be heading out of Egzardia in the morning, I did not want to travel during the late evening, given recent events," Van replies easily as they all move to take their seats at the dinner table.

"Tomorrow?" Inah exclaims, sitting very slowly rather than at a regular pace. "That's so … soon."

"I'm afraid that's why I didn't announce my presence in your country, Queen Inah, it's rude to become a guest and leave so quickly."

***

Amano sits at his desk, staring preoccupied at the drawings spread out there, whil Yukari goes into the kitchen and starts to make dinner. "Would you like tempura shrimp tonight, Amano?"

"That'll be fine, Yuka," he replies, adjusting a few of the measurements on his notepad to the side of the drawing, unable to get Inoue-sensei's comment out of his head. _Do you think she'll open them?_

*

Yukari turns and heads into the kitchen, the letters tucked safely under her shirt. Once there, she starts the tempura batter and rips open the first letter.

_Hitomi-_ it is from her paternal grandmother, Yukari reads as she looks at the envelope again to make sure. _I was most saddened to hear that your other grandmother passed away. I hope you'll write back more often now, and even consider visiting me once in a while._ Yukari skims the rest of the letter and then carefully folds it back up and puts it in the envelope.

She reads the next, a postcard, briefly, it is from the same grandmother.

_Hitomi I am most displeased that you haven't written to me yet. Has something happened?_

Yukari sighs, wondering why no one had bothered to inform Kanzaki-sobo about the accident that took her son and his family from the world, but doesn't comment.

"Yuka?" Amano calls, "How's dinner coming?"

Quickly shoving the letters and cards away, Yukari checks on the tempura and calls back, "Almost ready, Amano."


	27. TwentySix Belated Homecoming

**Amoro Revidi**

Title: Belated Homecoming [Part Twenty-Six]  
Series: Vision of Escaflowne  
Rating: PG-13  
_A/N: Ok, so I guess I **really **lied. This chapter is only 6 pages **too**. Plus, I obviously didn't get all these up before I had to leave California to come home. I'm just hoping you guys haven't turned your backs on reviewing because of the big FF.net difficulties recently... if that function is even working at the moment. If not, obviously don't worry about it, if so... um... Review?_

***

It had taken three days to get out of Egardia, Van, both unwilling to stay and unwilling to cause an incident between his country and Egzardia, could not refuse the shortest period of hospitality from Inah. Hitomi, he noticed, lost her easy smile in the Egzardian palace, where there were four eligible princesses pandering to Van's attention. He also, a little proudly, saw that she did not fight with the other women for his attention, but accepted it graciously when he ignored the fawning royal daughters in favor of her own slightly cooler approach to him.

On better horses, leant freely by the Queen, the Fanelian party sets out for home a few days before the King returns from Asturia. In less than a week the Fanelian King can taste the mountain air of his own country from time to time on the breeze, and in two weeks they reach the outlying borders of Fanelia, dropping off Khail and one of the Dukes at their own provinces, and picking up a mounted escort that carries word from Peralis and Merle in the castle.

*

Seated at the fire in a comfortable inn across from him, Hitomi listens as Van reviews what the letters told him about the near month since they departed.

"Arik and Tristan departed, in some hurry, it seems," he says with a preoccupied slant to his mouth. "Tristan, apparently, had to go and see about something regarding his country's welfare that required his immediate attention. There's a formal apology and goodbye letter awaiting me at the castle, and a separate one for you from Arik, it seems."

"How do you come by that bit of knowledge?" Hitomi asks, leaning back in her chair, glad to be alone with Van again after so long in the spotlight in Asturia, and then the trials of Egzardia.

"Merle sent that bit. She also said you'll be glad to know that more of the clothes that were patterned out for you are finished. That is… if you'll be staying long enough to use them." Van glances up at her for a moment, crimson eyes curious over the pages of Merle's letter. What he does not tell Hitomi is that Merle also scolds him for not, and somehow she had figured out or simply _known_ he wouldn't have spoken up on it, breaking with Hitomi on what he had wanted to since she'd left Gaea six years ago.

"I think I will," she replies, eyes half-lidded as she stares into the fire. "I like Gaea, I always have… and it seems like coming back to Fanelia castle is like coming home."

"What about Earth?" Van asks quietly, setting the letters in a pile on his lap.

"I… hardly ever think about Earth anymore, Van. There really isn't anything left for me there."

"What about that girl… your 'best friend'?" he tilts his head slightly as he sees that her expression sours almost instantly at the mention of the girl-woman, Yukari.

"Yukari and I… hadn't spoken in a long time before I saw her outside the hospital, Van. After I went back to Earth last time… she and Amano were going out."

"You liked him too, didn't you?" Van asks, curious.

"Yes… and no." Hitomi blushes, "By the time I got back… I didn't care about him in the same way anymore. I was… otherwise preoccupied. And I was glad that Yukari was happy… but she…"

A knock on the door interrupts Hitomi's sentence. Van smiles apologetically at her and calls, "Come in."

"More letters, sire," the guard says, stepping aside to let in a messenger.

*

Eventually Van decides that it's easier to just get back to the castle than to take their time and leisurely peruse the scenery of Fanelia, since anywhere they go the messengers come with more questioning letters from Peralis and his other advisors.

It is as they are riding up the final hill to see into the valley where the castle and its city can be seen that Van pauses, glancing over at Hitomi. Stopping to rest her own mount, Hitomi turns to Van, and he asks, "So are you really glad to be back in Fanelia?"

"Very much," Hitomi replies with a contented smile.

Van nods to himself and starts down the hill slowly, enjoying the brisk feeling of the breeze traveling up the valley past them, and then he turns to her quickly, bringing his horse over towards hers. "It'll… be sad, when you go back."

Hitomi blinks. "But Van-"

"The castle… will feel very empty."

Hitomi looks away slightly, recalling Van's earlier offer of a place in Fanelia for as long as she might like, but somehow she couldn't accept his offer of Fanelian citizenship and unending hospitality from the king she'd grown to love.

She also cannot bear to think of what denying Van's request that she remain would mean. He had been honest with her from the moment he confessed his feelings, showing that he had grown, at least, more practical since the Great War. She can remember his exact words in the chill Palas courtyard.

*

"Yes, Hitomi, I do… I love you."

She was slightly shocked.

"It's something I need you to know. No matter what else happens, or where you go, I love you."

The silence that hung in the air grew thick, and she felt the air would break with the weight of sustaining it, so she spoke. "There's something else."

"Yes. I- Hitomi, you have full possession of my heart, but I will always have a duty to Fanelia, one that I must honor. My people need a king, and stability in the royal house. I have no heir."

She hushed him quietly, and he took her in his arms, a tender hug that made something inside her breast burn. How could he love so many people so much…? She couldn't quite understand.

"You're welcome to stay in Fanelia as long as you like, my love… but I… it hurts but I can't assure you I won't have to marry…"

*

It hurts her to think of that happening, more than anything in the world. That some day he might not be hers, but it would have hurt more coming from someone else, as she's sure it would have sooner or later. At least, she figures, this way I can prepare myself, and know the weight behind my choices.

"It's not fair," she replies sullenly, to herself. "First I loose my family, now I'm going to loose you."

Van gives her a confused and helpless look, resolved, at last, to take the advice of Merle and his heart, two things which had yet to let him down, and speaks up after a moment. "Hitomi, if I had a choice-"

"I know you don't!" Hitomi exclaims, tilting her chin up to stare at the sky as a few unhindered tears trickle down her cheeks. Urging her horse forward into a slow walk.

Van grunts and leans over, grabbing the reins of her horse in one gloved hand and pulling her mount up short, and his own horse close to hers. "If I had a choice-"

"Please, Van!"

"Would you let me finish?" Van snaps, slightly agitated.

Hitomi turns to look at him, smoky jade green eyes just beginning to get red-rimmed from her crying.

"Thank you," Van replies, taking off his glove and reaching up to brush her tears from her cheeks tenderly. "Now, if I had a choice, I'd ask this at a more appropriate time, and place… and I'd have a-" he glances back to see the distance of the rest of their party. "But I don't, so I suppose I'll just say it."

Hitomi squeezes her eyes shut, prepared to let go of her heart to the words that she thinks will surely rip it from her breast.

"Will you marry me, Hitomi Kanzaki?"

***

Norte seems, to Sotet, a barren country, filled with rock, mountains, and dirt, as though the entire country were populated by people similar to mountain goats, and the sparseness of the landscape confuses him, until he gets to the capital city.

Unlike Zaibach, where the country was settled and then became a large city that sprawled out and was connected by transit systems after Isaac, or as he was later known, Dornkirk, brought the country to the forefront of technology by Gaean standards, Norte simply was unpopulated where the land did not permit itself to carry the burden of life. The capital city was situated in a valley that was kept as green as possible, the housing built into the sides of the rocky cliffs that, on first glance, appear to be very primitive.

Sotet has to remind himself of his father's country's livelihood being in mining. Norte's mines supply most of Gaea with the ores and metals they work with, including the reclusive Ispano, maker of the most advanced Guymelefs. As he rides down the valley on the main road, he feels as though every window in every house on the sides of the valley has some citizen staring out the window at him, and feels, suddenly, very young as he dismounts and leads his horse up to the palace gates.

"State your name and purpose," a bossy-sounding guard says to the young man.

"Sotet Morkeb Tovenaar. I'm here to see my father."

The guard looks at Sotet and then laughs. "_You_'re the king's son by that Kathis wench? You don't look a thing like what I expected… you're tall, and strong."

Sotet narrows his eyes, "I would not say such things about my mother if I were you, sir," he tightens his hold on the reigns of his horse and stands rigid. "May I pass into the castle?"

"Please do, your highness," the guard says, sweeping into a low, respectable bow.

Sotet blinks and freezes, looking at the guard in confusion.

"As the son of the king, my liege, you are, naturally, a prince, even though uncrowned. I am certain his royal highness will see to it that you are properly crowned soon enough."

Sotet nods and steps past, hearing the echoing of the clang as the large gates close behind him and wondering, concentrating on the idea with all his might, on whether or not he wants to be a crown prince or not.

*

Elsewhere, deep below the castle in a cavern that was once a vein of silver ore, Millerna stirs, again, to darkness, and wraps her arms around herself tightly, the thin slip she wears little help against the damp chill of the area.

A match is struck and again she shies away from the light of the small lantern, afraid to glance around her surroundings. The last time she had, it had nearly scared her to death, coming face to snout with what her imagination conjured up as a slumbering dragon-runt. In reality, it had only been an adult cave-lizard, but to Millerna, there was little difference. She had never seen a dragon before in her entire life, though she'd heard of them from Fanelian stories, and from Van. Folken had once spoken to her of them, but she tried her best not to think about him, because it brought back sad memories, and she needed nothing but hope if she was going to get out of the cavern and back home.

Well, hope, and her wits about her.

Again a tray of food is placed before her, by the same hooded figure that seems to be of a familiar build. Quickly, as though about to be starved, Millerna moves forward and collects the tray, moving back into her little niche in the wall with it, and cradles it on her lap like her long-distant Exeter. The warmth of the food comforts her chilled body, and she finds she can ignore the thinness of the shift and the rank smell of her unwashed body. In the darkness, she has lost count of the days that have passed by, but she can tell that many weeks must have passed, judging by her own weight and the smell of the cavern.

As she is eating, the figure that always brings in her tray returns, carrying another body, which is lain down roughly, two shackles similar to the one around Millerna's left ankle are placed around this person… Millerna narrows her eyes slightly and glances at the body… this woman's wrists, a third around her right ankle. The figure does not move at all, and a second tray of warm food is brought and placed before her unconscious form.

*

Sotet had not the chance to glimpse his father until he was washed and properly dressed. Then a servant lead him to the throne room and he was properly introduced to his father by a herald that announced his presence and startled him more than he normally would be. It wasn't as though Sotet had never been in court before, or to a throne room, just usually he was observing or a guest of honor alongside his mother, rather than the focus of the room.

"Daeluzito keb Ouran, King of Norte," the herald says, gesturing ornately and formally to Sotet's father. "Sotet Morkeb Tovenaar Ouran."

"That's wrong," Sotet speaks up.

The herald turns to regard him querulously.

"My parents never married. I am simply Tovenaar."

A bass-filled chuckle draws his eyes up to the throne once more and he sees the noise comes from his father. "A simple enough thing to rectify."

"You plan to marry my mother?" Sotet narrows his dark eyes at his father.

"No, but officially adopting you does the same thing… in regards to the name at least." Daeluzito smiles at his son kindly and adds, "Neither would your mother have me… nor is she allowed."

Sotet nods slowly, but in the back of his mind he feels suspicious of his father, and very much doubts that he will like this man.

***

In response to Van's abrupt query, Hitomi very gracefully blinked a few times, and then nearly fell off her horse. Luckily for her, Van was very close, and when her eyes went unfocused, he wrapped an arm around her waist to hold her up, and kept her horse steady with his other hand.

"Hitomi?" he asks quietly, shaking her gently.

After a moment, she wakes up and her jade green eyes stare into his incredulously, and not without a little fear in them. "Van… did you mean it?"

"I wouldn't have asked if I didn't."

There is a pause in which Van looks down at the horses and calms his, before turning back to ask for her response, which he gets before he asks, as Hitomi throws her arms around his neck and kisses him passionately.

The tender moment is broken up by applause from behind them as the two remaining nobles and the guard get closer. Van smiles self-consciously and Hitomi blushes bright red, having forgotten they had an audience.

"I… guess I can take that as a yes?" he asks as she slowly pushes away from him.

"Of course, Van. I… can't think of anyone else I'd rather spend the rest of my life with," she wanted to say. Or something else along those lines, but what she did was nod, not quite trusting her voice or her own actions, a time of happiness compounded by the love and elation in her heart.

Van smiles at her warmly and nudges his horse to move faster towards the capital, a thousand things running through his mind, most of which starting with finding Hitomi a ring. Suddenly he hears a pick-up in the hoof beats behind him, and Hitomi goes barreling past him, tapping him gently on the shoulder as she does, calling over her shoulder, "Race you!"

Van blinks for a moment and looks back at the guard before smiling at the challenge and kicking his horse forward.


	28. TwentySeven Betrothal Acceptance and Re...

**Amoro Revidi**

Title: Betrothal Acceptance and Rejection [Part Twenty-Seven]  
Series: Vision of Escaflowne  
Rating: PG-13  
_A/N: I've actually finished book one! I'm working on editing all the chapters right now so that I can get them all posted by tomorrow evening, hopefully. This chapter spends a lot of time with Van and Hitomi as they return to Fanelia, and then gives a little peek in on Arik and Tristan as well as Sotet in Norte. It's seven pages, and I think this is the point when the chapters, except maybe thirty, start to get longer. Bear with me, and review, ne?_

***

The race down the sloping hill into the city surrounding Fanelia Castle manages to beat the news of Van and Hitomi's return, and as they barrel through the streets towards the castle, people step out of their houses to greet their king as soon as they realize who it is that is riding like a hellion after the slip of a woman beating him by several horse lengths.

Nearly neck and neck as they round the last bend of the main road up to the castle, Van glances over at Hitomi and sees the bright smile on her cheeks, hair flying back from her face with the midday sun giving it a golden glow and he smiles to himself, thinking how lucky he must be.

At the gates of the castle, the two of them skid to a halt, horses panting, and Van slides down from his horse, moving to help Hitomi down, even though she doesn't really need it. As he sets her down on the flagstones, a cleared throat behind him draws their attention.

"So what's there to be acting such a fool over?" Merle's mischievous smile tells Hitomi that she already knew what was going to be asked by the dark haired Fanelian king, and she laughs even harder, hugging Van tightly.

Van blushes slightly and looks at Merle, reading her expression and sobering slightly. "What's… gone wrong?"

"The two of you had better come inside first… and have something to eat, and a seat. Don't look so broken, Lord Van, Fanelia's doing just fine. But elsewhere it's not nearly as true."

*

In the end the three of them retire to the patio dining room, finding that the sunlight is refreshing and comforting as Merle breaks the news they've missed in their travels back to Fanelia. Millerna kidnapped by Norte, who were likely responsible for the attacks upon the festivities in Asturia, and talk of war spreading throughout the nations.

Several nations had closed their borders to anything but commerce, and many nations were calling for their citizens to return home in case of a large war. Merle informed Van that he would find several treaties waiting for him with his advisory council. He sighed, and then Hitomi nudged him in the arm.

"Well something good came of this trip, at least," Van says, smiling down on his bride-to-be. Merle looks slightly puzzled at him, her periwinkle eyes twinkling at the two of them. "I asked Hitomi to marry me, Merle."

Merle's response is much like Hitomi's had been, only instead of fainting, Merle stares straight at the two of them incredulously, and after Hitomi says a quiet and proud, "I accepted," Merle darts forward and embraces the two of them as tightly as she can.

Hitomi smiles fondly down at Merle, glad that her joy can be shared with the tall cat-woman that had once been such a pain to her. As she draws back with a smirk on her lips, Hitomi sighs as she asks, "So, when's the wedding?"

Van stutters a second and glances at Hitomi. "We haven't set a date," she responds. "He only asked me today."

Merle glares at Van pointedly and then says, "It sure took you long enough. Now the two of you should probably get changed and get something to eat, I can't wait until the advisors find out Van's back in the castle… Peralis is all but going bald with all that's happened. I'm sure he'll feel better knowing that Van's found his bride though."

*

Peralis, and the other advisors, were, of course, quite happy to hear that their King was to be married. What stops the whole council short in their tracks, however, is finding out that Van proposed to Hitomi.

"The lot of you collect yourselves," Peralis snaps, angry at the derisive whispers from the other advisors. "Lady Hitomi is just as worthy of His Majesty as any princess Gaea has to offer."

"But won't the Lady Hitomi have to return to her own world at some point?" Brett asks, piqued at being silenced like a small child in front of the king.

"It would be much better for you to choose someone who would not leave Gaea, Your Majesty," Gabriel begins, but is silenced by a slam of Van's fist on the thick oak table in the council room.

"I do not," Van speaks slowly, controlling his temper, "care what you think about my choice of bride." He pauses and meets their eyes one at a time, crimson orbs blazing. "However, you will not disrespect her, and you will not undermine her. Hitomi has agreed to marry me, and so she shall. I expect a wedding to make Fanelia and Gaea proud. I want no arguments, no trying to talk me out of this, because it simply will not work. If I am ever incapable of it, Hitomi will rule in my stead.

"Now," he raises his voice a little more. "Is that clear?"

The advisors, cowed by Van's outburst of temper, nod quietly. Peralis smiles a little at that, glad that Van stood up for what he wanted, and hoping to see a new trend in his king. "Now, what do I need to know about this ceremony you'll be creating?"

Peralis stands and says, "If I may be so bold, Majesty, give us a date for the wedding, and we'll arrange the rest."

"I'll have to talk that over with Hitomi. I'll let you all know tomorrow. Now, the next order of business…"

*

Hitomi sits in the courtyard garden and glances up at the sun coming through the leaves of the trees. She leans down and tightens the laces of her shoes, having prepared to spend most of the midday alone, while Van meets with his advisors. She had spoken to Merle, and she thought it would be a wonderful idea for Hitomi to jog around the castle a little.

So she and Merle dug up a pair of what passed for Gaean running shoes, and Hitomi put on a comfortable pair of pants and headed down to the courtyard to get ready for her first real work out since the accident. As she laces up the shoes, she wonders what the advisors are saying to Van, recalling the vision she had about his mother and father, and hopes that it won't be as hard for him to win over the advisors as it was for Goau to.

Hitomi stands, adjusting the tank top on her shoulders, and starts to stretch.

As she starts her jog, she can feel eyes upon her throughout the castle. Undoubtedly the news of her engagement to Van is spreading throughout Fanelia, or at the very least, the castle. She fights the urge to run in the shade, out of view, and continues to jog slowly, not wanting to overwork her muscles so soon, but glad to be doing a little work herself.

She passes the stables and "her" horse, Crisslis, lets out a gentle whinny at her approach. With a smile, Hitomi pauses to pat the horse's nose and then continues to jog past, warming up her muscles.

As she leaves, the stable boy peaks his head out to look after her, and then leans back in. "That was her," he says to the groom in the next stall.

"Her who?"

"The woman from the Mystic Moon… the one that's going to marry the King."

"Her? She can't be from the Mystic Moon… she's nice."

The stable boy shrugs. "She's the only one that Crisslis responds to at all. So it's got to be her."

The groom considers for a moment, brushing the golden-furred stallion with strong strokes. "Well if that _is_ the future queen… I certainly don't mind."

*

Similar sentiments popped up behind Hitomi as she ran that day. By the time she stopped, and returned to her room to get freshened up for lunch, Merle was waiting in the outer room. "You turn quite a few heads no matter _what_ you do, don't you, Hitomi?" she asks the other woman, offering her a glass of water.

"What do you mean?" Hitomi asks, after swallowing a large portion of the glass.

"There's talk of you all over the castle."

Hitomi looks a little anxious at that thought, "What… sort of talk?"

"Good things only. People like you… and generally, they approve."

"Generally?"

Merle sighs, tracing a pattern on the tabletop with her fingers, "The only ones who object are some of Van's advisors. He spoke sternly with them this morning about their prejudiced rebuttals to his announcement…" Merle smiles mischievously at her friend, "He hasn't spoken up like that to them before."

"Oh my," Hitomi says, putting down the towel she was using to wipe her face with cool water. "I don't want to cause any trouble."

"Would you rather loose him?" Merle asks in a quiet voice.

"No!" Hitomi responds, turning to face Merle with a serious expression. "Never!"

"Well then," Merle says, "Don't worry about causing trouble. It's no trouble for Van to come out of his shell and be a king rather than a boy-prince that they can lead around by the nose. It's good for him." Hitomi nods, a little mistrustfully, and heads back into her room to change clothing.

A knock comes to the door and Merle stands, crossing.

"Is Hitomi in?"

"She's getting ready to change, Lord Van… she did some running and…"

Van fidgets slightly and foists a bouquet of flowers off on Merle. "Give those to her?" Merle narrows her eyes slightly at Van's bashful behavior and sighs, waiting for him to scuff the toe of his boot against the floor.

"Certainly," Merle replies, with an inward sigh.

"I'll wait on her to have lunch."

*

"Who was that, Merle?" Hitomi calls as her maid laces up her dress.

"Lord Van," she says, stepping into the bedroom. "He brought you these," Merle sets the flowers on a table and then goes to get a vase, "And said he'd wait on you to have lunch."

"Did he say anything about the meeting?"

"To me? No."

Hitomi sighs and steps into the shoes set out for her, and steps over to look at the flowers with a slight smile on her face. "I suppose this room might seem empty to him too…"

"What?" Merle asks, puzzled, but, seeing that she'll get no response from her friend, she says a quiet goodbye and steps out of the room.

*

"The advisors agreed to set up the wedding…" Van says as they eat lunch quietly near the windows in the hall. He marvels at the way the sunlight catches her hair and the faint smile on her face as he mentions it. "They only need a date."

She looks up at him, jade eyes a little surprised. "A date?"

Van reaches over and takes her hand. "I don't mind leaving it completely up to you. Just say the word."

Hitomi blinks, thoughts flying through her head as she tries to ingest that thought. _What's making him so cool about this? We're going to be married… I'm going to be queen…_

"And you don't care if I set a date that's a long time from now?"

Van grins a little and lifts her hand to his lips, placing a gentle kiss on her knuckles, "I don't think you'd torture me so much. Or yourself."

Hitomi blushes faintly and looks down slightly, then back up to him and says, "Alright, but you have to promise to teach me to help you with Fanelia."

Van blinks.

"I mean it, Van. I want to be a help… a good queen for you. If all I do is spend days wandering the castle, I can't possibly do that. So if you want me to set a date, then I want you to teach me what a Gaean woman would know… and what the Queen of Fanelia _should_ know."

"Any other demands?" Van asks with a smile, glad Hitomi is taking her future position so seriously.

"A few," Hitomi replies with a grin, "but you'll find them out later."

Van looks at her querulously, but she won't give him any further answer. "A date at least?"

"How long do you think it will take for me to learn the basics?" Hitomi responds, trying not to give in to the tingling of her skin where he kissed her hand, or the warmth of his hand against hers and pick a date in the very near future.

"A month or two," Van replies honestly, thinking for a moment before he speaks.

"Then, six weeks," Hitomi says, gripping his hand a little tighter to see his reaction as he looks up into her eyes.

"Agreed," he responds. "Now… about those other demands…"

***

Seated quietly near the wall of the room where a single candle lights the entire area, Arik hums quietly to herself as she brushes her hair. Tristan slumbers fitfully on the bed. She can hear the whispered rumors spreading through the compound, as clearly as though the people had been speaking to her.

Walking with Tristan became strategy as well as a cure for the cabin fever the two of them got from the small, windowless room where they were forced to try and produce some sort of heir for Ispano's future at least three times a week. The whispers she recalls are slightly disturbing.

"Do you think," Tristan's voice from the bed startles her, she was paying so little attention that she had surely thought he was sleeping, "that Norte really is trying to start another war?"

"Ouran… the current king, perhaps has goals we aren't aware of."

"Who do you include in that 'we', Arik?"

"The two of us, Ispano… the Consortium in general."

"You speak his name as though you know more about him."

Arik frowns slightly, "He abused his Kathis… tricked her."

"What?" Tristan sits up, eyes icy with indignation. "How do you mean?"

"Mistress Tovenaar was King Ouran's Kathis," Arik says quietly as she brushes her hair a final time and pulls it back to begin braiding it. "Sotet is their son."

"But Norte's not been in danger…"

"I was never told the particulars of the event, but Mistress Mot came home to the compound with a baby while I was still training. She was sent to seclusion with her son for a few years, and when she came out she was given a position within the compound. She has not set foot outside since."

Tristan frowns, leaning back down again.

"Sotet has gone to meet with his father."

He shoots straight up in bed again and stares incredulously at Arik. "What? Why?"

"The Council has some reason for it, I am sure," Arik responds, "Perhaps to see what can be done about King Ouran. I don't think Sotet was the right one to send on the journey, though."

"But who else would go?"

Arik pauses in her braiding and then says, "I do not know," quietly, before returning to her previous occupation.

"The floor must be cold," Tristan says quietly, moving over on the bed, "Come to bed."

Arik nods, finishing off her braid, and rises with all the grace of the trained warrior in her, and steps over to the bed, lying down next to Tristan.

***

"What will we do, Princess?" one of the advisors questions desperately.

"Will we declare war on Norte?"

The voices seem to be coming at her from ever direction, but Eries sits tranquilly on the small throne in the council room and waits for the nervous questioning to die down before she speaks. "Asturia has never declared war in its entire existence," she begins, planning out her words carefully, "and now will not be a time in which we shall. Or at the least, not on our own. We will first send couriers to our allies to see what they would do if we were to declare war upon Norte. If they would support us, or if they would not."

The advisors murmur the sage decision on Princess Eries' part and turn to regard the king, who nods absently at her pronouncement before standing and leaving the chamber. Inwardly, Eries frowns at Dryden's behavior, but does not show that face to the advisors. "This meeting, then, is adjourned. We will gather again once word has been received of our allies."

The advisors nod and stand with her, filing out as she extends a hand in the direction of the door. Once they are all gone, Eries sinks back into the small throne she had been seated in and hangs her head.

A quiet knock on the door, and then near-silent footsteps bring Celena into the room. "At your leisure, Princess," she says.

"Speak up," Eries responds, not in the mood for company, but knowing the quiet young woman would not have come without reason.

"I've had the maids run you a warm bath. Would you like dinner in your room as well?" Upon the Princess's arrival in her father's (now sister's) palace, Celena had been appointed as her top lady-in-waiting, since she knew the palace better than the long absent princess did, and was of the proper rank.

"Where's Exeter?"

"He has been put down for his afternoon nap."

"I'll have dinner with him. And see to it that Dryden eats something. He'll waste away." Celena curtsies slightly.

"I have been making sure of this for the past month and a half, Princess."

Eries narrows her eyes slightly and looks up at Celena before straightening herself in the chair. "And my nephew?"

"I have overseen his governess as well, with the Queen's absence, and the King's infirmity… I thought it best that someone…"

Eries fights the urge to rebuke Celena for presuming so much upon her family's well-being, remembering the girl's kind nature. And the fact that she had lifted a sword and protected Exeter with her life. She smiles and says, "I thank you, then."

Celena curtsies again and waits to be dismissed.

"Celena."

"Yes, Princess?"

"I need to speak with your brother, do you know where he is?"

Celena nods, "He's in a meeting of the Knights' Caeli. It should be ending shortly… and he will most likely need to speak with you as well."

"Oh?"

Celena bows her head slightly. She didn't quite dare to hope that there was anything between her brother and the princess, but she knew the two of them were fond of each other, in more than a harmless way. "He is head of the Knights' Caeli, the senior knight now, and the meeting, he has told me, was to discuss the possibilities of protecting the country properly in case of war."

"I see," Eries says, rising from her throne and setting her shoulders. "I will take something to eat, have it brought up to my bath. After that, I will see your brother."

"Yes, Princess."

***

"I will not accept the adoption," Sotet says, quite angry with his father, but mindful of the underlying mission in his visit. "It would dishonor my mother, and I would never be able to see her again."

"Surely you can see what benefits you would have to…"

"I am sorry, father, but my decision must be final."

Daeluzito scowls, the look darkening his face to an almost fearsome countenance, which is not lost on Sotet. "I would very much like to enjoy the rest of my visit here with you, father."

"I need you, son."

It had broken Sotet's heart to think that after so long of imagining who his father was, and how he had died, for as a child he surely was given that impression by his mother's lack of speaking of him, that this was the father he had to settle for. Sotet finds Daeluzito cold and scheming, and wonders, just when he had changed from the man he is sure that his mother once loved.

"For what, father?" Sotet asks innocently, hoping, at last, after nearly a week in attendance at the castle in Reyo, that he can get what he's really come for.

Daeluzito remains silent. "I have plans, my son, and a country with no other heir than you. Without you, all this," he gestures with one free hand, "means nothing."

"Surely you could marry, father."

Daeluzito glances sidelong at his son and sees the traits he knew the boy would inherit from his mother. Willowy height, slightly pointed ears, and a compact build. Dark hair from him, dark eyes from Mot, but there is something more. He smiles wistfully, knowing that his son has inherited part of his mother that cannot be defined by glancing him over on the surface. It is why, he recalls, he had bothered to get him through the Kathis woman.

"Any child I might produce otherwise would be inferior."

Sotet blinks in confusion, wanting to ask just what his father means by that statement, but afraid to press to hard. He recalls Jujiin's words and holds his tongue for a while longer.


	29. TwentyEight Tradition and Duty

**Amoro Revidi**

Title: Tradition and Duty [Part Twenty-Eight]  
Series: Vision of Escaflowne  
Rating: PG-13  
_A/N: Things appear to be going quicker with this editing than I thought. I'm a little iffy on a scene from this chapter, but other than that, I'm pleased with the progress. I'll warn everyone who's reading this book and planning to continue on into the second book, the second story is a lot darker and more macabre. I haven't started it yet, but I probably will tomorrow afternoon or sometime soon, because my mood's been in the right frame to handle writing it. This chapter's 8 pages long, and the next two are going to be quicker paced, so hold on to your chairs while you read kids._

***

The time until the wedding seems to fly by for Hitomi, the lessons Van had arranged taking up much of her time. She was very proud when Van asked her to begin attending his council meetings. It distressed her that Gaea was standing at the edge of another war, but she was relieved not to be left out in the dark about what was going on. It made her feel special that Van trusted her, and that meant a great deal to her.

Merle was a great help during the time of the preparation, helping her to remember Fanelian customs that she might otherwise have forgot, and making sure the seamstresses completed a decent wardrobe for her. With two weeks left, all that remained for either woman or cat-woman to do was to see to the wedding dress.

And it was a great battle.

*

"I won't wear that."

"Hitomi-" Merle begins.

"Lady Hitomi, this is the traditional Fanelian wedding gown… and has been worn by-" Peralis' chief aide tries to convince her, about to go on about custom and tradition.

"No," Hitomi says flatly, folding her arms across her chest.

Merle chuckles at the incredulous look on the man's face. "But, my lady, it's tradition."

"It's also my wedding. And I refuse to wear a hundred pounds of heavy robes. I'm sorry but I'd rather wear an actual dress."

"Hitomi, your dress would have to have a train about ten feet long."

"I don't care. I'm not going to wear those robes… I'd pass out! What are they, wool?" The aide looks a little bashful and she sighs. "Besides, it doesn't look like anything that Van would like at all. It looks so…" Hitomi circles the maid holding the wedding robes as high as she can and scrunches her nose up. "So military."

"Formal," the aide corrects.

Merle sighs and steps in, "Tell the council to leave the wedding dress to Hitomi and me, we'll see to it that the seamstresses do a decent job on it, and it will look properly formal."

"But Miss Merle-"

Hitomi shoots a stern glance at the aide and he freezes. Silently, Merle applauds Hitomi's mastery of what she's always called Van's "commanding look". The aide bows politely and turns to leave the chamber, the maid bearing the robes out after him.

"How did Varie wear those?" Hitomi asks no one in particular, sinking down into a chair wearily. "I can't even imagine walking five steps in it, let alone the length of the castle and to the shrine."

Merle shrugs, "There's tradition for you."

Hitomi chuckles. "So we'd better get started… got any paper?"

"Paper?"

"To design the dress, of course."

Merle retrieves some and Hitomi starts to sketch out on the paper a dress. "Where'd you learn to do that, Hitomi?"

Hitomi, continuing to draw, speaks absently, "I was… going to school for it."

"Really? You were going to draw dresses? You do it well enough, why did you need to go to school for it?"

***

Mot paces the room agitatedly. The Council had finally decided to inform her the reason for letting Sotet visit his father, and she is nervous about it. A knock comes to the door and she nearly pounces on it, calling out, "Enter!" before the knocking is through.

"You requested my presence, Mistress?" Arik replies, keeping her eyes lowered as she enters the room with her former teacher.

Mot narrows her dark eyes at the auburn-haired Kathis. "Your scars… are they healing well?"

"Which ones, Mistress? Those across my back, or those on my body from the attack on Ispano?"

"Both," Mot frowns as she says it, drawing herself back into the darker corners of the room to pace some more.

"Those on my back heal slowly, and are old, no liability. Those on my body were tended well in Fanelia, and will soon be gone."

"I see."

"It is not my fault Sotet was sent to Norte, Mistress," Arik stares at the other woman evenly. "You have no right to take it out on me."

"You have no cause to be preventing your duties!" Mot snaps, her voice clear and crisp in the darkened room. The firelight makes her shadow dance upon the wall frightfully. "Don't think I do not know what you do, Dulchap, because I have been where you are now. I know you delay things… things that could be over and done with."

"You know nothing," Arik spits out, turning to look into the fire, letting its warmth caress her face.

"I know plenty." There is a long moment of silence, and then Mot decides to try another approach, "It should please you to know Fariah has been sent to Freid."

Arik turns and takes a step forward, one hand raising to her breast, "She…"

"Was selected to be Duke Chid's Kathis."

In spite of her anger, and her mistrust of the Mistress, Arik smiles. "She has done well then."

"Better than her mother," Mot replies, voice chill as she glares at Arik, "who cannot seem to do what she must when she must."

Arik glares at Mot. "I'm not one of your students anymore, Mistress," Arik retorts, silver eyes glaring. "And I won't take this abuse from you."

"It is not abuse, and you have no choice."

"You can lock a door for so long on someone before they find a window, Mistress," Arik replies, voice stiff and formal. "It is only a matter of time. It's no safer here for Tristan than it would be elsewhere. If Ispano can be invaded, so can the Compound."

Mot frowns and turns away, long silver braid swinging angrily behind her.

"It is no use of me to speak with you when you are so enraged, Mistress. I take my leave."

"You," Mot snaps, "will do nothing of the sort!"

Arik turns and glares at Mot. "You can't blame me for your mistakes, _mother_." She frowns, "I am not a little girl anymore, and I'm not the reason Daeluzito did what he did to you. If you are looking for someone to blame, then blame yourself." Without another word, Arik turns on her heel and heads out of the room, back to the cell-like space she shares with Tristan.

Mot leans against the wall, appalled at her daughter's behavior. _Am I only looking for someone to blame? Some outlet for all this anger that's inside me because of Sotet's journeying to Daeluzito, and his mission, when he is so clearly not ready for it?_ She sighs, hoping that her unknowing granddaughter is doing better than she herself is.

***

"Take care, Fariah," Jujiin says, embracing the young woman tightly. "I will send your mother your best, and tell her of your great fortune once I am returned."

"Mother… is going to be back…?"

"Something has befallen her country that she could not avert, and so she has retired to the Compound with her protectorate. Pray this does not happen to you."

"I will."

Chid watches the parting from a small balcony where he is breaking from his lessons for the day, and eyes the red haired young woman sent to protect him. His mother had never spoken of Kathis before, and his father refused to put faith in them, the fact that his own had died to save him years before Marlene consented to wed the Duke of Freid, was beyond the point.

He drinks some water brought for him and watches as Fariah resolutely turns on her heel and ascends the stairs to the balcony, glancing over the practice area. She does not comment, but takes up station at one corner of the sparring space.

Chid ambles over and asks, "What were you talking about with Master Jujiin down there?"

"Nothing of consequence," Fariah responds, her eyes distant.

"I very much doubt that."

Fariah eyes her protectorate and sighs, "If you would know," she begins formally, "we were speaking of my mother."

Chid blinks, "Your mother?"

She nods. "Everyone has a mother. Even we heartless bodyguards."

He frowns. "Fariah, I didn't mean to imply that you didn't have a mother. Simply that I didn't think to ever hear you speak of her."

"And your parents, Chid? Why don't you talk about them?"

"Because they are dead," Chid replies, voice growing cold.

"And so, then, are mine to me," Fariah turns her attention to the carvings on the palace again, eyes making their own patterns of the nubs and crannies in the rock face.

Chid's expression softens. "I'm sorry to have brought it up," he turns and draws his sword again as Kiyo beckons him into the ring.

***

The dress, when it is finished, does indeed have Merle's warned ten feet of train behind it. But Hitomi, turning in the mirrored prism set up for her to inspect the garment in, cannot deny her satisfaction at how it has turned out.

With less than three days to the wedding, she can't help but be glad it was not a failure on any of those involved in its creation's parts. She sighs and turns around again. The dress still seems to be missing something.

"What's wrong?" a quiet voice from the door asks.

"Van Fanel! You get out of here this instant! You're not supposed to see me in my wedding gown before the wedding." Hitomi turns to look for him and sees him by the door, with his eyes closed. She smiles. The maid holding the train chuckles and Hitomi waves her off, out of the room. "Oh, you might as well come in now. I'm sure you've seen it."

Van grins and steps around one of the mirrors and past the maid on her way out to stand before her. "You look radiant."

"Thanks," Hitomi says with a sigh, turning to try and adjust the fall of the full skirt a little. Van blinks, puzzled.

"What's wrong?"

"It just feels like it's missing something…"

Van steps forward and stops her hands with his own a moment, forcing her to turn, first one way, and then the other. "Maybe… have you thought about something around the neckline?" he asks after a long moment of contemplation.

"Only every day. But I can't think of what…"

"Ah well perhaps I can make a little suggestion."

Hitomi looks up, puzzled that Van is so attentive to the look of her dress. She decides, finally, that it's because the wedding is, despite his relaxed attitude about it, rather important for him as well. She chuckles as she thinks about how she's put off thinking about just _how_ important the wedding, and coronation, are for him as well, Van being the king.

"Go right ahead."

"Feathers."

Hitomi blinks. "Feathers?"

Van nods, fingering the neckline of the gown on her for a moment. "White ones… to match the material."

Hitomi looks down at Van's hand against her breastbone and then up into his eyes, a thought springing to her mind as her heart speeds up slightly. "_Your_ feathers!"

Van pauses his hand for a moment and then looks up at Hitomi with curious crimson eyes. "I don't know about that… I was thinking maybe swan feathers or…"

She cuts him off by leaning her face forward towards his and says, "I think it's proper, don't you?"

Van sighs, hopelessly trapped in her eyes, and nods slowly, stripping off his shirt. And extending his wings. As usual, white feathers fall from them, and litter the floor of the fitting room with them. After a moment, he glances over his shoulder at her, and she nods. He retracts his wings, turning to face the wall slightly, and sighs.

Hitomi, sensing his dejectedness, leans forward and wraps her arms around him, nuzzling his neck with her face. The tension in Van's shoulders melts away and he sighs, turning carefully to slip his arms around her as well. The two of them share a lingering kiss just as Merle steps into the room.

"Lord Van! Hitomi!" She exclaims, all but dropping the box containing the veil.

Hitomi blushes bright red and Van smirks slightly, glancing over at Merle.

Merle firmly closes the door behind herself and locks it, tossing Van's shirt at his head and giving Hitomi a pointed look. "It's three days until the wedding."

"And I asked for feathers to put on the neckline," Hitomi replies, a little vexed that Merle is being so prudish about the scene she walked in on.

"Who was it that said he wasn't supposed to see the dress until the wedding?" Merle counters.

"I was the one who walked in anyway, Merle."

"Let's stop squabbling. Watch your feet," Hitomi replies, pulling away from Van to lean down and start collecting the feathers.

"If we all do it, it'll get done faster," Van adds, stooping to lend a hand as well. Merle sighs and scoops them up too, knowing better than to try and argue with the two of them, and secretly still jealous of the royal couple.

Van steps out while Merle helps Hitomi change out of the dress and into something less formal to go have dinner in, the feathers spread out on a long table across from the window. Merle leans against the table, sighing as she remembers part of her training.

_ It will hurt, but you must let it happen,_ she can hear Mot's voice still. _That part of your duty may never be necessary, and you must learn to accept it. But the rest of your duty is still the same._

*

Hitomi jogs after Van, and finds him waiting at the bottom of the stairs. Smiling, she hugs him tightly, and they kiss again, heading off for dinner. The castle staff smile and bow to their king and his future queen, much pleased with the happiness within despite the threat of war looming on the horizon not so far away.

Dinner seems to fly by, and then the two of them meet with advisors about the ceremony, and have some time to themselves, which they take in a stroll along the battlements, just as the moon starts to rise.

Hitomi snuggles against Van's shoulder and he walks slowly, with his arm around her waist comfortably. "It all seems like a dream," Hitomi mutters slightly as they pause to look out over the castle-city lit up at night.

Van makes an agreeing sound in his throat, and Hitomi turns to look at his face in silhouette under the moonlight. After a moment of her scrutiny, he turns and kisses her. She kisses back, and after a moment or two they are embracing as well.

Breathless, Van whispers in her ear, "Merle wasn't lying… the wedding is only a few days away."

Hitomi blushes at her forwardness as she says, "Then there really isn't anything to stop us, is there?" It had been with a heavy heart that she left Gaea, and the shy lover she'd found in him six years ago, she finds, as she contemplates the thought of her future husband, that she has no intentions of being so forlorn again.

"Hitomi-" Van begins, but is hushed by another of her kisses. "The entire castle keeps its eyes on us…"

Hitomi smiles against his lips and says, "You are the king, and this is your castle, and you don't know how to avoid detection for a single evening?"

Van grins at the challenge. "Do keep up then, my lady," he says, taking a step back and pulling her along gently by the hand.

***

Chid leans against the balcony and stares out at the practice grounds, knowing he has better things to do with his time than watch Fariah, but he cannot help it. Something about her reminds him of Celena. As though merely thinking her name might summon her to his side, Chid sees her as though she is standing next to him on the balcony.

On the practice mat, Fariah freezes as she begins her next set of movements and listens closely. She throws her eyes all around the open area of the castle, and stands up straight, body going still.

_ Prince Chid on the balcony to the west… the balcony to the east, clear. The balcony to the south, clear. The balcony to the north-_

Throwing herself into a run, Fariah moves straight towards the north balcony, because with its stairs that face straight into the practice courtyard, she bets she will have a better chance of stopping the archer with his crossbow than she would at getting to the west balcony and getting Chid to the ground.

Chid blinks out of his slight stupor to find Fariah gone from the courtyard and running up the northern balcony steps quicker than he's ever seen her move before. He looks up to the balcony and sees one of the monks. For a moment he believes it is one of the monks, until he sees the glint of the sunlight off the metal tip of the crossbow. He throws himself to the ground even as he sees the faint sparkle leap from the weapon, afraid his movements have been too slow.

Crouching with his arms covering his head, Chid blinks and looks around himself for blood, and, finding none, he peeks through the balustrade of the balcony.

Fariah, however, _is_ bleeding.

Seeing the arrow leap from the crossbow, she had vaulted up from the landing and taken the shaft in the left shoulder, landing almost badly and falling back down the stairs, she had nonetheless continued quickly up the stairs and decked the startled assailant with an angry right cross that sent the two of them to the ground.

"Guards!" Chid bellows, unsettled and worried, but aware that Fariah would probably gain nothing from his coming any closer to the dangerous assailant than he already is.

A few moments later, guards swarm the north and west balconies. Umal is shocked to find the Duke's bleeding Kathis seated upon the much larger would-be assassin's chest with stormy gray eyes and a creased frown.

"Take him to the dungeon," Fariah snaps, getting up only once the unconscious assassin has been bound, and staggering a step or two from loss of blood. "I will deal with him later."

Umal narrows his eyes and starts to speak, but Fariah throws a glance at him that silences him. "In matters concerning the Duke's safety, of a personal sort, I am in charge. And if you have a problem with it, I will be more than glad to meet you on your grounds to settle it." She lifts a hand and roughly yanks the shaft of the arrow from her left shoulder, lifting it to the sun to look at it.

Chid crosses quickly to the north balcony, and winces as he sees Fariah rip the arrow from her shoulder. "What are you all standing there for?" he snaps, "Call a doctor."

The guards and Umal move off.

"It's… unnecessary, Chid."

"Fariah, what are you talking about? You've been injured."

Fariah, getting swiftly dizzier, leans on the railing to support herself as she presses her right hand tightly against the wound. "I'm serious, Chid."

"What's wrong? You look…" Chid assesses his Kathis and frowns, "You look like you've been poisoned."

Fariah smiles, "I have been. The arrowhead… was laced with something."

Chid begins to get a little frantic, and starts to holler again, until Fariah grabs his arm. "I will either be all right, or I won't, Chid. No doctor can help me."

"I don't understand you!" Chid shouts, starting to leave the balcony, angry.

"I don't expect you to," Fariah says in a low voice, then as she sees him start to leave, she snaps, "Stop right there!"

"What?" he turns and glares at his Kathis.

"An assassination was just attempted, you aren't going anywhere alone until the palace has been searched. And the assassin interrogated."

"Who's going to escort me? You've been-" Chid turns back towards her, about to comment on how weak the poison has made her, but her color has returned and she is simply holding her shoulder to stop the blood. "You're not… poisoned anymore… are you?"

"No." Fariah slowly peels her hand from her shoulder and glances at it. "Now, what's the hardest place to get to?"

"The alcove behind the throne room… why?"

Fariah wipes the blood from her hand onto her pants and then draws her sword. "Lead the way."

"Fari-"

"Don't," Fariah glares at him, "argue with me right now. Your life is in danger and as you can see," she makes a slight motion with the silver blade around the empty balconies and practice courtyard, "I'm the only one here to protect you. Do as I say or I'll take you somewhere of my own discoveries."

Chid, blinking, nods and starts off for the alcove.


	30. TwentyNine Idle Threats

**Amoro Revidi**

Title: Idle Threats [Part Twenty-Nine]  
Series: Vision of Escaflowne  
Rating: PG-13  
_A/N: Next to last chapter. No Epilogue for Amoro Revidi, unless I make it a tie with the next "book"s prologue. Only a 7 page chapter, but bear with me, please, because Chapter 30 has about ten pages in it. Thanks to everyone who's been reviewing, keep it up, it motivates me to finish the story faster. I'm almost done with chapter 30, it just needs one more segment inserted and a title, along with an editing job. It'll most likely be up by the end of the week._

***

Eries frowns as the replies begin to return to the castle, and are delivered to her by various messengers so that she has a chance to look them over before the advisors do. She considers speaking to Dryden about the matter, but then thinks better of it, he not being fit to do much more than care for his son, and by that, she thinks bitterly, nothing more than play with the crown prince in order to keep both their spirits up.

With a sigh she looks out the window of her make-shift office set up in her old study, and a small smile breaks out on her face as she sees Celena and Allen Schezar walking in the courtyard outside, talking quietly. As though Celena knows of the princess's intrusion on her time with her brother, she looks up at window. Eries shudders, unsure if she is imagining the slightly red color of Celena's eyes or not, at the distance.

Eries pauses at one letter that seems thicker than the rest, and then drops it.

"From… Norte?"

"I should be going, Celena," Allen says, walking her to the King's library, where she has said she must report after her short break.

"Will I see you tonight at dinner then, brother?"

"Unfortunately I doubt it," Allen replies. "I have many things to attend to."

A sudden shriek from the princess's study alerts both Allen and Celena, and with a wordless glance the two of them take off up the stairs in that direction, bypassing the library. Allen makes it to the door first, and, drawing his sword, bursts through the door.

Celena, just behind her brother, looks over his shoulder at the scene within, and is almost moved to tears by the pity of it all.

Eries, pressed back against the wall near the window, stands shaking, her normally calm blue eyes wide and, for the first time that either Schezar sibling can recall, on the verge of tears. "Princess," Celena pushes past her brother to try and comfort Eries, but the platinum haired princess doesn't seem to notice Celena at all, except to shrink back from the other woman's touch.

"Celena, go check on the king and Exeter," Allen says, quick blue eyes taking in what's caused Eries' dismay, heart sensitive to the woman's discomfort with his sister, for reasons Celena can't possibly understand. Or at least he hopes she can't.

"Yes, brother," Celena replies, a little disturbed at being dismissed like that. She turns and walks purposefully from the room, leaving Eries and Allen alone. As she crosses the threshold, an angry thought crosses her mind, _She certainly doesn't shrink away from my brother._

Shutting the door behind him, Allen steps into the room and over to Eries, sheathing his sword. The letter, lying open on the table full of responses, has words written in either auburn ink… or blood, with pale golden locks accompanying it. Frowning, he reasons that the script is probably cast in blood, but something deep inside him says that the blood doesn't belong to the missing queen.

Eries reaches out for a moment and then ducks her head, looking down. Allen steps forward. "Princess, please accompany me outside."

Eries looks up at Allen, her face stricken, and tries to speak, but finds that her mouth won't work. After another moment of quiet shock, she steps forward, reaching out to him, and Allen wordlessly opens his arms to her. After a few moments of quietly rocking the startled and frightened woman, he can feel that her breathing has evened out, and she has fallen asleep on his shoulder. Gently, Allen settles Eries in an armchair in the sunlight, and opens the window to let some fresh air in.

Inside his breast, anger coils like a fire serpent. _First the King, now Eries? I don't care if we formally go to war or not, I will not see the house of Aston fall under such pressure._

***

Upon receiving her letter from Asturia, Emman called her son and daughter-in-law together with her in her chambers.

"So… it was Norte."

Emman nods, glancing at the two newly wedded young people. "I have called you here to ask you what you think should be done before I go to my advisors. This will be your kingdom soon enough," she lifts a hand at their protests, "and most likely sooner than later, if there is a war. In the event that I do not outlast this war, as Jasper's father did not, I want the two of you in perfect position to take over when I am gone."

Kira feels sad at the thoughts Emman is bringing to mind, but then the queen's voice softens and she says, "It is simply the way of things, Kira my dear, no monarch can rule forever, and I don't think I'd like to. Besides, I know you'll be just fine. A good wife to my son, and a good queen to my people."

The three spend the entire afternoon ensconced and speaking about what their response would be. The letter they finally sent back to Asturia was one of the more supportive and saving of the responses.

***

Van sits with a bemused smile upon his face at lunch, less than twenty-four hours away from his own wedding, when Peralis comes jogging up to the king's table with a letter in his hand, bearing the Asturian seal. Van opens it, and as he is reading, the bemused smile disappears from his face.

Hitomi blinks, looking up at Peralis as she eats quietly, and then Van says to his chief advisor, "Leave us for a moment."

As Peralis heads off about other things, Hitomi asks, "What is it, Van?"

"Asturia wants to know what Fanelia would do if they were to go to war with Norte." He sips his wine thoughtfully.

"Go to war?" Hitomi's smile fades as quickly as Van's did, "Didn't Gaea learn anything the last time? Who wants to go to war?"

Van's expression calms, "Not I," he says in a tender voice, "nor Fanelia. But you do understand _why_ Asturia is contemplating going to war?"

"Of course," Hitomi replies, sighing and looking down at her plate. Suddenly, she doesn't feel so hungry. "I hate to think of Millerna kidnapped."

"I'm sure she's fine. Norte… Ouran might have the guts to kidnap her, but no one in their right mind would harm a kidnapped queen."

***

"Stop it!" Millerna finds her voice at last, watching as the other her in the room is held up by the chin, and her hair shorn off roughly.

The hooded figure glances at Millerna, but does not speak to her, or in any language she can understand. Instead, the figure draws up the other Millerna's arm and slices it crosswise, drawing blood that is collected in a basin. The hair, in the exact same color and apparent quality, as Millerna's own would be, if it were washed, is gathered and bundled carefully.

The hooded figure leaves the room and Millerna wipes the tears of pity from her eyes. She crawls over to the thrice shackled woman whose face is slowly reverting to its original visage, and brushes the cropped hair from her forehead. "Are you all right?" Millerna asks, tearing the bottom of her shift to make a strip of cloth to bandage the other woman's cut forearm.

The brown eyes open slowly, as though it is a labor for them to do so, and Millerna gasps. "You… you were at the castle, in Palas."

The other woman's head nods once.

"Aren't you… a Kathis…?"

Another nod.

"What happened to you?"

"Aden," a slightly hoarse voice croaks out. Then the young woman's body stiffens and she thrashes, "Jasper! Kira!"

"Calm down. I doubt there is any way that you will get out of those chains," Millerna tries to soothe the other woman, but she continues to fight, until the shackles around her wrists rub the skin and start it bleeding slightly.

"Stop this instant!" Millerna commands.

Nil slowly settles, squeezing her eyes shut to fight back the tears.

"You're weak," Millerna replies, ripping her shift a little more to wrap up the cuts along her wrists, "and you'll only do yourself more harm if you don't get some rest."

"Aden… why…?" Nil mutters, her eyes fluttering back in her head.

*

It had been a shock to Millerna when the hooded figure entered the room and began to command the other chained woman. Millerna hadn't even realized she was awake. The food from the previous day was still sitting, cold, where it had been placed when it was brought in. The words the hooded figure used were foreign to her, in a harsh tongue that she couldn't understand. The entire situation puzzled Millerna.

_ "Up, Kathis-dog,"_ the woman's body began to move at that command, however rebelliously it seemed to do so.

_ "Become the queen!"_

With a glare, the brown eyes opened and the figure spit out words that, even though she could not understand, caused Millerna to flinch, _"I have neither the strength in me nor the desire to do that command, traitorous pig!"_

_ "Do it, or the queen dies!"_

The woman turned to contemplate Millerna, and the serious expression on her face caused a shiver to trace down Millerna's spine. Something about that look told her that something very important about her own safety was being decided, but without knowing what, she did not know how to react to anything.

_ "As you wish."_ The other woman slowly began to shift, her face lightening and her hair seeming to run pale and then with a half-quiet grunt of effort, the blurred lines of face and smothered color of her hair seemed to snap into place, and Millerna found herself staring into her own face across the cave-cell.

*

Millerna puts her face in her hands a moment and then takes a deep breath, unwilling to let her emotions get the best of her. She looks at the young woman and notices that, oddly enough, the shackles around her wrists are slightly bent, and there are minute cracks in the wall around where the bases holding the chains in place are seated. Millerna looks at the Kathis lying prostrate on the cold stone floor.

_ She might just have gotten her arms free… but she might also have slit her wrists clean through in doing it._ Millerna shudders slightly and gathers the other woman's head into her lap, brushing the hacked ends of hair gently, and feels tears staining her lap.

***

It took seven hours for the castle to be searched, in which time Chid found himself seated in the small reception chamber behind the throne room with his back to a corner, and Fariah, one shoulder basically useless, stood with her sword drawn facing the door. Each time the guards checked in she lowered her sword slightly and they reported.

Chid's top advisor, Umal, enters once the search is finished, with the report from the guards. "Four other assassins were found, and all await Miss Fariah's interrogation in the dungeons. There is a doctor at the ready to see to her wound, and dinner is being prepared as we speak."

"Take the duke along to dinner and have the doctor sent down to the dungeon, he can dress my wound while I interrogate the assassins."

Chid starts to protest, but she steps from the alcove without waiting for him to speak. "What is her problem?" he mutters to himself.

Umal sighs, "A Kathis does not rest during a time of peril for their charge. She will not be still again until the assassins have told what they know, and have paid for their crimes upon you, My Duke."

Chid puzzles and blinks up at Umal. The taller older man stands rigid and towers over the fifteen-year-old duke. "What else do you know about the Kathis?"

"She has complete authority over you when there is a threat, and if you resist, she will take measures to force your compliance, for your own safety. Please, my Duke, step this way."

***

Celena had seen her brother in many moods, but she had yet to see him in one so dark as when he carried the Princess into her chamber and lay her on her bed. Her brother's blue eyes were cold, and his face expressionless.

"Brother-" she begins as he steps past her, but, seeing the closed and cold expression on his face, she trails off. Exeter, playing quietly in the corner, doesn't notice the change in atmosphere.

At his sister's voice, he turns his eyes towards her, and, noticing Exeter over her shoulder, he resolves himself. Wordlessly, Allen turns and leaves the Princess's chambers, heading off towards the library, and the King.

"Sir Schezar!" The door guards to the library snap to attention as Allen comes near, and he pauses for a moment at the doors to give them quiet instructions.

"Of course, my liege," the guard in charge replies, and as the Senior Knight Caeli steps into the library, the two of them close the door and bolt it behind him.

Dryden looks up from the chair near the window as Allen comes in and then narrows his eyes, "What do you want?"

"Your wife, Fassa, is kidnapped."

"I am well aware." Dryden turns mournful blue eyes away from Allen, but doesn't look back to his book, instead, he searches out the guards at the door, and is shocked to find the doors shut tightly as Allen continues.

"Her sister runs your country."

"As I am of that," Dryden snaps, beginning to loose his short temper with the knight before him. "What is the point to all this?"

"Your family falls apart," Allen responds. "Do you intend to do nothing?"

"What," Dryden replies, leaning over and lowering his voice, "would you have me do?"

"Something to protect those you care for," Allen responds, reaching into his vest pocket and withdrawing the small package that Eries received.

"What's this?" he responds as Allen hands the small package to him.

"A letter received." Dryden opens it with shaky fingers. "Before you open your mouth, before you utter a word," Allen tightens his grip on the sword at his waist, "Look carefully at the contents. Disregard the writing, look at the hair."

Dryden starts to stutter.

"Stop!" Allen snaps, expression hardened, mouth a firm line of stone below his almost blazing blue eyes. "You said to me before you thought you noticed something about Millerna at the ceremony. Regard it closely, _is this Millerna's hair_?"

After a moment of shocked silence, breathless as Dryden lifts a few of the long, roughly shorn off locks to hold them before his face closely, rubbing them between his fingers a few times.

Carefully, and solemnly, he lifts the hair to his face, touching it to his cheek and then inhaling its scent.

***

It was not hard for Sotet to slip away from the activities and guardians his father had given him in the castle, he had been doing it often since his arrival. The castle was strangely devoid of guards, unlike other royal residences he'd visited before. There was still one area of the castle to go over before he would return to the Compound, and it was only a few days before he would leave, so now was the time to investigate it.

The cellars were all open, and normal looking, but upon further inspection, the back wall to one was shallow and false. Finding the trigger switch, Sotet is about to venture further when he hears footsteps. Quickly, he darts into one of the side store rooms, and behind some winebottles.

The entrant to the cellar pauses at the shallow cellar room and closes the door securely behind them, before moving to the false wall and opening it. Sotet catches the scent of fresh food, warm and cooked, for a moment, before the wall is closed and the figure is gone from the cellar.

_ The queen must be in there,_ Sotet reasons to himself, and makes his way quietly from the side store room and back up into the castle proper.

***

Entering the room quietly, Tristan crosses to the bed he shares with Arik and rouses her. In the dark of the windowless room he feels more than sees her sit up, and takes a seat beside her on the bed.

After a moment of silence between them, she speaks up, "You're bothered by something."

"The Council…"

Arik lifts a hand in the darkness to touch Tristan's cheek. Before he can speak again, she moves her fingers to cover his lips. "I know what they've decided. The Mistress has agitated their thoughts on the matter."

"But it's not _right_, Arik! You… _we_ are trying."

In the faintest glow of light, Tristan would've been able to make out the slight change in Arik's expression, but in the pitch black of the room he cannot. A sad, saucy smile plays across Arik's lips, unseen by the Ispano High Priest. "One of us is."

"What?" Tristan turns to square his shoulders towards her, unnerved. "Arik, what do you mean?"

"Mot…" 'mother,' she adds silently, "was right when she said I hadn't been taking that part of my duties seriously, Tristan."

"I don't understand."

"I don't expect you to. You have no desire to be a father, have you, Tristan?" she replies, words even.

"I don't have a choice… if we don't… they'll kill you."

"Your conscience is clear, Tristan. You've made every effort."

Disturbed, and puzzled by his lifelong friend and protector's words, Tristan lifts his left hand to capture Arik's in his own. "What do you mean? How can you even be sure that you _can_ have children, Arik?"

"The Council is certain that every Kathis sent out is capable of fathering… or giving birth to a child, Tristan. No one leaves the Compound on a mission of becoming a bodyguard without having that proven without a doubt." She takes a deep breath, her next words spoken in a lower voice, as though she is afraid the walls will hear her and betray her, "But I won't until you command me to."

For a moment, he stutters, uncomprehending what he'd ever done to deserve such loyalty from her. "I don't really see any other option, given the circumstances, Arik."

"There's always another option, Tristan." Arik slowly lifts her other hand to take Tristan's left and draw it downwards from her face slowly.

Careful to school his reaction to her suggestive placement of his hand, Tristan swallows before saying, "I'm listening."


	31. Thirty Paradise Lost

**Amoro Revidi**

Title: Paradise Lost [Part Thirty]  
Series: Vision of Escaflowne  
Rating: PG-13  
_A/N: Last chapter. O_o You have no idea how hard it was to get this done. I hope the pacing feels like the fastest game of pong you've ever seen in your life, it's how I intended it to work, whether it did or not... you judge that. Once again, I hope you all enjoyed this part of the story, but because of health issues, there's going to be a short hold on the beginning of the next "book". I will write it, rest assured, but there's other things (and stories) that need to get done before I begin the monumental task of the next 30 chapter section of this story. I look forward to reviews, and any email can be shot at my account, lt_noin@hotmail.com in the meantime. Fanart is welcome, if you like the story enough to doodle about it (I know I do)... But without further ado, here's the ending chapter of _Amoro Revidi_._

***

_ I've never been more nervous in my life,_ Hitomi thinks to herself as the four ladies in waiting she'd been assigned by Merle help her to bathe and have a light breakfast. Outside the window the first lightening colors of the dawn paint the sky over the mountains surrounding the castle. Candles light the room as the women move in practiced and steady paces to get Hitomi ready for her wedding.

With a sigh, Hitomi sits down to have the bodice laced up by two of the young women, and allows the other two to deal with arranging her hair.

From the doorway to the room, Merle watches with bittersweet satisfaction as Hitomi is prepared for her wedding. Once, long ago, she had thought to never see any woman thus attired, becoming prepared to be joined to Van in a way that no other woman had ever been, but something inside her secret heart feels at peace as she watches the women winding flowers into Hitomi's hair and preparing to pin the long veil into her sandy blond hair. Quietly, she sinks farther into the shadows to check on Van.

***

Allen takes a deep breath and knocks on Eries' door again. With the knowledge that the hair in the letter did not belong to Millerna, he feels it safe to rouse her from her seclusion. Celena, answering the door, steps aside to let her brother into the room, and then steps outside, closing the doors behind herself.

"Princess," Allen calls into the darkened rooms of the pale haired monarch.

A weak response draws Allen farther into the room, and toward the canopied bed. Eries, looking frailer and weaker than he had ever seen her before, makes an effort to draw the covers over herself as he approaches, despite the gauzy curtains between the two of them.

"What brings you hear, Allen?" she asks, turning her face from him, to look towards the glowing curtains. On the other side of the thick brocade the light of the sun illuminates Asturia, and Palas.

"It's time for you to get out of bed, princess," Allen says, folding his arms across his chest. Eries doesn't respond, and so he starts to repeat himself, but stops, and changes his tactic. "I bring word from the King."

Disinterested, Eries turns a blank face back towards him.

"That wasn't Millerna's hair that Ouran sent you, Princess Eries."

"Dryden could never be sure."

A low growl in his throat, Allen keeps himself from yanking aside the gauzy curtains and shaking the princess he had grown to respect and… he forced himself to admit it, love, until she came to her senses. Instead, he purposefully strides across the room and throws open the thick curtains.

Eries shrinks slightly from the bright light of the morning that filters into the formerly dim bedroom, and frowns at Allen.

"The sun has risen, Princess. The council awaits your leisure. If you are not dressed and to see them in an hour I will bring you down in whatever attire you have on."

She sits up and glares at Allen, but, with his back to her and his eyes carefully scanning the horizon outside of her window, he cannot take affect at her anger. "How dare you," she seethes.

"Because between yourself and Dryden, this country is short on thoughtful monarchs at the moment," Allen's voice is cold, and Eries steels herself for his disdain. But, as he turns to look at her, she finds a faint blush rising to her cheeks. "And I care to much for the affairs of this country, and for the members of it's royal family," he pauses to meet her eyes meaningfully, "to let it all fall apart. Millerna is fine, it would be best for her sister to see about getting her back instead of letting boastful letters scare her."

Without another word to her, Allen forces himself to leave the room, setting his jaw as he crosses the threshold and instructs Celena to get the princess ready to meet her council.

***

The hardest thing for the king of Fanelia had been trying to sleep the night before, he thought. His body, on the other hand, seemed determined to prove him wrong. Waking up, and staying up, was much harder. Every time he closed his eyes, a sweet vision of Hitomi greeted him, and without seeing her since lunch the day before, it was much more enjoyable to remain with her, even in illusion, than it was to allow his servants to dress him for his wedding.

Sighing, he forces himself awake again, and allows one of the servants to run a comb through his slowly-drying hair. His eyes dart to the window to check the sky, and he smiles a little to find it clear and relatively cloudless. _Leave it to Hitomi to blindly pick the perfect day._ A noise almost too faint to hear draws Van's attention to the doorway.

"Good morning, Merle," he says with a soft smile to her as he makes out the barest trace of her outline in the recess near the door.

"You look tired, Lord Van," she replies quietly. "Didn't you get any sleep?"

"Little."

"It seems both you and Hitomi will have a long day ahead of you, then."

"You've been with her?" Van tries to keep his voice casual, but he hears the faint laugh from Merle and knows that his anxiousness is showing.

"She's about as nervous as you, but she hides it better," Merle replies, stepping forward a little so that the light from the candles illuminates her face some in the dim room. "I trust you'll still be awake once dawn breaks to actually walk to the shrine and greet your bride, Lord Van?" she teases slightly.

Van narrows his eyes and nods, "Of course."

***

Ouran frowned, watching from the balcony as Sotet's horse disappeared up the valley and away from Reyo. At his side, an aide waited patiently for his king's attention. "Speak," the dark haired king said finally.

"The units stationed around Fanelia have found the proper moment to attack, my liege," the slightly hunched over aide said, "the king is getting married in two days, and they will attack then."

He nodded barely, the only indication of a change in his state the motion of the dark curls of hair on his head. He eyed the movements of his son as the young man put distance between himself and his father, with a critical and calculating eye. The boy had agreed, somewhat reluctantly, to return in a few months, but Ouran was not entirely sure that he wanted to wait that long.

"What news from Cesario?"

"The country is quiet, but preparations are being made for defense. The whole of Gaea believes war is brewing, but none are quite sure from where it will spring first."

"And offense?"

"None reported, my liege."

There was a long pause between the two, and Ouran narrowed his eys. "I want Aden called back," he said, as though gifted with a premonition of something.

"That will alert the Cesarians that foul play was involved, certainly, my liege…"

"Every Kathis takes a short hiatus each year to train at the Compound. I have other uses for him than petty spy work in that worthless country."

"Yes, my liege."

***

At last dawn arrives, and from the opposite sides of the castle, Hitomi and Van step out of their chambers. Each wear their formal attire for the day, and the ritual of a Fanelian royal wedding ceremony begins. The two make slow circles of the interior of the castle, ending with a walk up to the temple slightly above the castle, to the courtyard where the first of the actual ceremonies would take place.

Seeing him walking out of the archway across the flat, mostly empty courtyard, Hitomi's heart speeds up slightly. The last time she had seen him as dressed up, wearing the full royal armor over his clothing, had been the day he was crowned king. With a faint smile she collects herself before starting out into the courtyard.

Van smiles brightly as he sees her approaching, a vision of pale creamy skin covered in a sparkling white dress barely visible across the courtyard. His smile falters a little as she stumbles slightly, and his brow furrows with worry, though he resists the urge to run to her side and see what was wrong with her. She regains herself well, and does not even break the pace of her walk, but Van's mind reels at what might have caused her slight stumble.

What bothers him most is that he knows there will be no time to talk of whatever happened until much later that evening, most likely after dinner.

***

"Prince Jasper."

Startled out of his contemplation of a map of Gaea, the green-eyed prince of Cesario nearly drew his sword at the quiet voice from across the room. The door had not been opened, he was sure of that. And yet there, across from him, stood Nileyah, eyes downcast and voice solemn and serious.

"Yes, Nil?"

"It is time for me to return to the Compound. I must leave you for a time, and your new bride," the steady, low voice seemed to add the last phrase with a slight edge.

"I see," Jasper said, returning to his maps. Things between himself and Nil had been colder since returning from the celebration in Asturia, and he faulted himself, and his marriage for that. He would never give up Kira, not after having found such a jewel of a woman in her, and such a trustworthy companion, but he couldn't get over the guilt that he felt at having been forced to hurt Nil, whom he had known almost his entire life. "I… trust you will have a safe journey there and back. When will you be leaving?"

"Almost immediately," she responded.

There was a quiet moment in the study, and then a servant opened the sliding doors and entered, carrying a service tray with tea on it. Shortly following the servant, Kira stepped in, a bright smile on her face. She crossed to Jasper and kissed his cheek warmly, without noticing the stock-still figure of his Kathis across the room.

"I take my leave then, Prince Jasper," Nil said, turning to formally address the princess, "I hope you will both be safe until my return. Princess."

Kira, startled by the sudden speaking of someone she had not noticed to begin with, nearly jumped at the icy greeting from the Kathis. Jasper put a calming hand on hers and smiled over the maps at her.

***

Despite the pain of her injury, Fariah rose to practice the next day. She refused to be looked at by a doctor again, and preferred to keep her time alone and overseeing the interrogations of the would-be assassins. As suspected, they had been sent by Norte. Much to his dismay, she did not see Chid alone for nearly a month.

*

"I'm a little disturbed," Chid announces to his Kathis as he steps out of the shadows in the practice ground where she is training with her sword.

Wiping her brow, she sheathes her sword, "Disturbed about what, Chid?"

"You're spending your time everywhere but where you need to be. What if I was attacked again? And if you weren't there to protect me?" Even as he says these words, he hears the hollowness of his statement, the childish whining in his tone. Fariah frowns slightly, and sheathes her sword, moving past him on her way to enter the castle.

"What's your problem?"

"What do you mean, Duke?" she stops on her way to the exterior staircase, back to him so that he cannot see her face. Idly, for a moment, he allows the contrast of her skin and hair to the dark rock of the castle staircase to sink in. It isn't until she speaks again that he responds, "Duke?"

"I told you not to call me that," Chid responds, turning an angry glare in her direction. "You agreed, if you don't recall?"

"What do you want, Chid?" as she talks, still not looking in his direction.

With a low growl, one of his first, Chid stalks the distance between himself and his Kathis and turns her to face him with a well-placed hand on her shoulder. "Look at me!"

"I'm looking," Fariah responds, voice even. She refuses to let Chid know how startled he'd made her by forcing her to look him in the eye, or how different he looks with a little purpose behind his expression.

"I want us to be friends," Chid says, voice low and angry.

The affect on Fariah, however, is just as desired. In fact, more potent than desired. Her eyes, trained on his, unfocus slightly as she remembers someone else who spoke those selfsame words to her, a few years before.

"Fari-"

Snapping quickly out of her trance, Fariah nods, stepping back a little to break his hold on her, the trance his clear blue eyes held her in, and says, "Then we shall be friends, Chid."

***

Hitomi fights her yawn as Van leads her up through the temple, past the halls where altars towered as tall as Escaflowne itself, and to the shrine in the small grove on the mesa above. Beside her, Van's profile is stern and slightly concerned. She feels butterflies in her stomach jump again and forces herself to breath calmly and to act naturally. It had mostly been bad timing that had caused her prior stumble, and a sharp pain in her stomach.

The cool air of the shrine, and the familiar trees around the tall stone monument where Van's father and brother are both buried calm Hitomi's slightly frayed nerves slightly. Side by side with Van, she kneels before the monument and folds her hands in front of her. In Hitomi's ears, a chorus of birds plays counterpoint to whispering voices.

_No,_ she thinks sternly to herself, staring through slitted eyes at her praying hands, _not now, not again._ After a long moment, Van murmurs something, and she responds as rehearsed for this small ritual of asking permission of the past kings of Fanelia for their blessing. The whispers in her ears speak a little louder, but she forces herself to ignore them. _I will not start this on my wedding day!_ her mind-voice shouts back at the whispers.

*

It is almost too easy for the infiltrating troops to set themselves up in the castle. The entire population of the castle and it's surrounding city are at the temple, reverently filling up the outside area of the temple and, for those more important members of Fanelian society, the seats and positions in the actual courtyard for the wedding ceremony, which is set to commence just before the midday meal.

The streets of the city are quietly secured, though the gates are left open. The four samaurai generals were in attendance at the temple, but the armies of the four samaurai are secretly awaiting any foul play at the city gates. Unbeknownst to the infiltrating Norte troops, they are also stationed in the castle, though they were dressed down and in padded leather armor rather than in metal. There are two regiments waiting inside the temple, and so, had the Norte infiltrators thought to close the gates, they would have met with less resistance than trying, as directly as they had planned, to assassinate the king and his bride.

***

The sun had crested, and was beginning it's afternoon decline as Hitomi and Van reentered the halls of the temple. The crowd of Fanelian citizens filled the halls quietly behind them as people moved out of the king and future queen's way in order to take their seats for the actual wedding ceremony.

Hitomi smiled regally as the two of them descended the main steps from the temple to its courtyard, but inwardly, she was nervous. The whispering voices in her ears had picked up, and she could no longer ignore them. It was taking all her wit just to continue to smile and maintain a steady pace at Van's side.

Van's presence was helping to keep her in check, and the royal sword, so close to his capable hands, kept her from pulling him aside and delaying the wedding ceremony altogether. She wanted nothing more than to be Van's wife, but she was scared that something would happen as soon as the crown was placed upon her head.

***

Eries drafted her letter to Fanelia quietly in the seclusion of one of the courtyard gardens of Palas. Allen, seated nearby, already had his own letter of congratulations completed for the soon to be kind and queen of their neighbor country, and was awaiting Eries' letter so that both could be sent at the same time.

The Princess found herself distracted from the letter writing at hand, however, by the sight of Celena and Exeter playing in the garden around them. Dryden, finally showing signs of recovery from the lapse he had gone into with the queen's disappearance, was taking in the early spring sunshine and watching Celena and his son as well, but with a less concerned eye.

"Princess?" Allen asked quietly, hoping not to startle her into action or flight. Inside, he had been greatly troubled when he had seen her in her bedroom, lying as though she were near death, more than he would ever let her know, he feared. Something had told him to ignore her protests and shake her a few times that morning when he had been forced to rouse her in less than gentlemanly manner a few days prior. In regards to his gentle query, he was rewarded by a serene and regal turn of her head towards him, and he felt slightly nervous with the intense blue eyes of the pale-haired woman on him.

"I… do not know what more to write," she confessed, offering the letter to him.

He paused momentarily, asking himself if it was right to read the letter she was writing, and then, as she moved her hand forward slightly more, he took it.

Dryden's slightly glazed eyes were keener than either Eries or Allen suspected, the slight smile that drew across his lips as Celena chased the young prince around the garden wasn't directed at the two of them, but at the Princess and the Knight Caeli seated in the far corner. He knew several things about the Aston family, and its daughters. His sister-in-law was many things, and one that he knew both from experience and reputation was that she was a very private person. What she thought and felt were kept largely to herself. It made her a good monarch.

It also made her a recluse. Her retirement to the convent had only furthered that particular aspect of her personality, and upon her return to the castle, she spoke to no one except for himself and Allen in any way more than functionally. In truth, Dryden admitted, the only one she spoke to in any manner other than professional was Allen himself. The princess could do much worse than the Senior Knight Caeli for a husband, especially given the reason she hadn't been chosen to become queen in favor of Millerna.

***

The rumble, at first, went unnoticed by those in the temple. It was just as Hitomi and Van exchanged a perfunctory kiss to seal the wedding vows after exchanging rings that there was a wave of whispering through the crowd. Not so much of appreciation at the near-finality of the wedding, but at the display of birds taking flight from the trees above and around the environs of the temple.

As Van prepared to crown his queen and present her to his people as a queen, he nodded to Aguilo, and the Northern general turned and disappeared into the crowd.

True to her anxiety, the crown was just being settled on her head when Aguilo returned with his findings by staggering, wounded, into the courtyard, and collapsing.

The cry of battle rang out over the quiet temple, and the guards ushered the citizens out of the temple through side and back doors, and into the hills beyond. Van drew the royal sword and glanced wildly around as the noises of battle increased around the temple grounds.

Hitomi, huddled close behind him, placed her palms on his back, clenching and unclenching her fingers in the dark fabric of his cloak. The rest of Aguilo's personal squadron, plus Merle, moved to surround the king and queen as they retreated slightly to the largest of halls in the temple, where Escaflowne was at rest.

***

The day began for her long before Tristan stirred in bed beside her, but true to the decision he had made the prior evening, Arik remained in bed long after he rose, complaining of an upset stomach. She did not rise from bed until well after the midday meal, and then she appeared to those in the compound to have a severe case of morning sickness. It allowed her the privacy needed to make her preparations, which she did with a single-mindedness that would have surprised Tristan if he had been around to see it.

Tristan spent his day, as usual, in the library, studying the various texts, though there was a fevered anxiety about him that, had she left her own seclusion, Mot would have immediately noticed. Mot did not, however, set foot outside of her own sparse rooms, and the other Council members attributed his uneasiness to the sudden illness and disappearance of Arik.

As the sun first started to set, he made his way down to the stables to check on Arik, and the two of them hid themselves away in the stables until the Kathis hands assigned them all went deeper into the Compound for dinner. It was then that they made their move.

"Quietly now," Arik cautioned as they each lead a horse from the stables, prepared with saddles and a little baggage. Tristan, unable to speak as quietly as she, merely nodded in response.

***

The battle within the temple lasted the rest of the evening. It was early when the Norte troops discovered the location of the king and queen, and the fighting was bitter. No one escaped the day without scratches and cuts, including Hitomi, who, for the most part, was forced to stay behind Van and out of harm's way.

When the guards started to thin out, as the sun began to set outside, and Van and Merle were left with swords, Hitomi in a small alcove behind them, the two lifelong friends glanced sidelong at each other. The three were hold out against at least five Norte invaders. Hitomi had already ripped the long train from her wedding gown so that she could move about more easily, once or twice it had almost proved fatal to one or all of the three Fanelians. Gone, as well, were her satin shoes, thrown, in angry and desperate moments, at the attackers that would not let up, no matter, it seemed, how many of there number fell.

Merle opened her mouth to speak, but just as she did, a blindingly bright white pillar of light crashed to the floor of the temple around Van, and he disappeared. A quiet 'thunk' noise announced that the royal sword had stayed behind on whatever journey he was making.

Hitomi was halfway to Van's former position when the light sucked upward and the room returned to its normal, coppery red color as the sun set in the mountains outside. Merle steeled herself as four soldiers rushed her, and switched to her unwounded arm to wield her sword, but with all the blood loss the soldiers were to much for her, and she collapsed.

"No!" Hitomi cried out, half leaping to Merle's aid as the cat woman sank, first to her knees, and then pitched forward on the marble floor of the temple.

The soldiers chuckled at Hitomi's distress and began to move forward. Frightened, she made her way backwards at the same pace they were advancing, until she ran into chill, solid metal. Glancing upwards, she saw that she had come to the very edge of Escaflowne.

Hitomi closed her eyes tightly, willing to endure whatever these soldiers might do to her, so long as she could do it blindly. But at that instant, Fanelian soldiers charged into the large hall of Escaflowne, and the distracted soldiers turned to defend themselves before grabbing Hitomi as a hostage, and, in the momentary upheaval, Hitomi managed to scramble up to perch on Escaflowne's knee, her climb made easier by the earlier loss of her train to a near-missing sword slash that would have crippled, if not killed her.

***

The sun was halfway to it's setting place when the Compound took note of its two missing number, and by then, Arik and Tristan had left the grounds of the Compound and escaped to the open plains of Asgard. Bundled on his mount, Tristan was doing his best simply to hold on while they traversed the wasteland plains. The winds were colder than he was used to, and the sun was harsher in his eyes as it set than anything he could remember since he watched his mother struck down before him.

Arik, however, seemed impervious to both weather and glare. She guided her horse expertly through the frigid expanse as though she knew exactly where she was going, because, in fact, she did. Though she had only come to the continent of her father's homeland twice before, she knew the way as though it were tattooed on the inside of her eyelids. Like something in her blood was directing her towards her second, now third, home.

The sun's slanting rays turned auburn and rust, and finally the world around them looked crimson as the first faint signs of habitation grew nearer. Tristan squinted his eyes as he looked at the figures in the near distance, and then he rubbed them.

Sure enough, his eyes appeared not to be playing tricks on him. The figures came closer, and to Tristan's astonishment, they bore wings behind them, rising from beneath thick clothing to stand tall and proud. The creatures, Draconians, he thought he recalled correctly, looked like bronzed angels in the slanting evening light. But they carried spears and a few of them appeared to have swords as well. He could not understand exactly what the words exchanged between Arik and the tall Draconian guards, he assumed they were, meant, but from the brusque manner in which they were ushered forward, he assumed, again, that it could not be a good thing.

***

Much later, after the battle had been won, and the wounded bandaged, and she was assured that Fanelia would recover and be able to defend herself… once Merle was assuredly alive, and those invaders not killed were rounded up and the questioning had begun, then Hitomi allowed herself the luxury of tears.

She could not tell exactly why she was crying, or for what. Van, she was almost certain, was not wounded beyond recovery, nor was she, though the two of them were separated. The country he loved, and so, too, did she, was going to survive. But tears flowed from her eyes and she curled up in Van's bed, burying her face in his pillow.

The door opened quietly. "You shouldn't cry so, your majesty," a calm voice said to her as a hot plate of food was set down on the bedside table.

"Who…"

"I don't expect you should remember me, majesty, my name," the woman taking a careful seat beside Hitomi on the bed was older, and maternal, "is Austa. I was one who helped look after his majesty and the Lady Merle when they were both babes."

Hitomi blinked back her tears, but they continued to fall freely. "I… wish I could stop crying," she said in a broken voice.

"But you're not quite sure why you are, are you, child?"

Glad that Austa had refrained from using her royal title, Hitomi nodded and accepted the tender hand that brushed her hair back from her head. "You've a heart that grieves often, haven't you, child?" Austa asked rhetorically. "You'll be a fine queen for us, but those who died today did so to protect us."

***

It took next to no time, it seemed to Tristan, for them to reach the main camp of the Draconians. His eyes, instead of watching the wasteland, were on the creatures above him as they kept easy pace with the tired horses.

As they reached the camp, Arik dismounted, and motioned for him to do the same. There was a group of Draconians waiting for them, and from the back stepped a tall, familiar figure.

_"You've fallen from your mother's graces, I see,"_ the baritone voice said as Arik knelt before him.

_ "She has never been truly happy with me, father,"_ Arik replied, glancing back at Tristan's uncomprehending face.

_ "And yet you've brought the responsibility she foisted off on you along for the journey, I see."_

_ "We have no where else to go where they won't force me to bear a child, father."_

_ "Force?"_ the hazel eyes of the taller Draconian sparkle, and he brushes a few graying auburn locks of his bangs from his eyes. _"Whatever the reason,"_ he turns to regard the small group gathered around him, _"we welcome you home, my child. Take the horses and have them tended to. Take my daughter's man to a place where he can rest before he falls over."_ The tall Draconian steps forward and he embraces his daughter, after a moment he steps back to slip an arm around her shoulders and lead her into the village.

***

Head spinning, Van staggers down the street, eyes not quite properly focusing. Not quite sure where he had ended up, he'd quickly hidden his armor before moving much of anywhere. Blood dripped down his left arm from a deep gash, and he had been knocked in the head a few too many times during the battle, when the attackers had gotten too close.

The last, and yet only, thing that he needed was sleep. His mind knew it was not good, with the way the world was spinning, to fall asleep. But his body, which had slightly more control at the moment, decided otherwise, and Van collapsed in a heap at the most fortunate time and location possible.

Yukari was just rounding the corner with a few cleaning supplies for the old Kanzaki residence when she saw him at the end of the driveway. Alarmed, she thought at first to call the police, but on closer inspection, she recognized the young man passed out and bleeding on her 'best friend's' sidewalk, and so she opted, instead, to take him inside and bandage him up.

After a quick call to Amano that explained the situation, she settled the two of them in for the evening, careful to check him every so often to be sure that he would wake up.

Outside, the sun finished setting.


End file.
